SMST 7: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar!
by ocramed
Summary: Thanks to a mishap, Usagi, Ranma and their adoptive son Goku DBZ find themselves on the world of AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER!
1. Chapter 1

**SMST: Earth, Wind and Fire! - By DS Wynne**

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**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST", "Avatar: The Last Airbender, and other properties belong to their respective owners.  
**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.  
**

**Special note: While the set up takes place during "SMST: Hero Initiative", "SMST: The Village Hidden in the Moon", "SMST: Journey into Mystery" and "SMST: Journey to Adventure", in the year 2008-09, the rest is a "flashback" takes place shortly after Goku Son's defeat of Piccolo Daimao on Chikyuu (i.e. "Dragonball").**

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**Part 1**

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Natsume Tendo looked up towards the aproximate location of her aunt Nabiki's bedroom should be...

"Father has been up there for a while," Natsume comments.

"Yeah, he has," replied her step-mother Usagi, as she turns her attention towards Nabiki's room. She knew EXACTLY what was going on, especially since she had been the one who suggested it. Still, in spite of Ranma's apparent attempts to "hide" his activities with the middle Tendo sister, Usagi knew that it was only a matter of time that Ranma's older daughter would figure what was going on...

"You know, you want to spar?" Usagi asked.

"Um, sure," Natsume says. "I'm already dress for it..."

"Good, so am I," Usagi says, as she gathers the shogi pieces. "Let's go..."

A few minutes later, Natsume, with her carpet beater, stood opposite of Usagi in the Tendo Dojo.

"Ready?" Natsume says, as she gets into a loose fighting stance.

Usagi checks her arm bracers, to serve as inhibitors for her powers, and gets into a "rabbit" stance.

"Ready."

"Here...GOES!" Natsume says, as she charges forward.

Usagi squints her eyes, as she read her movements. So far, Natsume was making sure that Usagi did not read her movements.

"HA!" Natsume yells, as she began to use a combination of jabs, thrusts (with her carpet beater) and kicks. It wasn't serious, since Natsume was trying to engage Usagi. However, she was frustrated that she could not read her step-mother's movements.

"Let's see...if THIS works," Natsume says to herself, as she began to whip her carpet beater. "Huh...HA!"

A small tornado is formed, and begins to head down towards Usagi.

"Ah, the 'Hiryu Carimbou' technique," Usagi says, as she performs 'mudra' hand signs.

"Air Style Jutsu: Air Scooter."

Usagi expelled a large gust of wind. At the same time, she rotated her arms to form a 'solid' ball of air.

"What is that?" Natsume says, having not seen the technique before.

"Pay attention to the fight, my dear," Usagi says, as she hops on top of the air bubble, and leaps just as Natsume's attack made contact with the ball.

FWOOM!

The ball and the tornado combined to form a bigger ball of air.

"Thanks for the 'donation'," Usagi says with a smile, as she sat down on the sphere nonchalantly.

"Whoa," Natsume says. "Amazing..."

Usagi smiles, as she performs a hand-stand and flips off her attack. The ball soon dissipates, though not before rattling the house a bit.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Loki and Ranma look up from their love-making.

"What is that confounding noise?" Loki replies. Loki, the Norse goddess of magic, also known as "The Trickster", was the combination of the original Asgardian Loki Laufeyson and Nabiki Tendo. Thanks to the Chousin "Tokimi", Loki and Nabiki merged into one being, with Nabiki being the dominate personality (as influenced by Loki). Why this was the case, only Tokimi knows. Regardless, the new "Loki Nabiki" (her full name) has come to love Ranma, in spite of her disdain for the avatar of the Wyld.

"Ah, don't worry about it, babe," Ranma replied, already guessing what was going on. "Less talk, more loving."

Back down in the dojo, Natsume and Usagi towel off while sipping bottled water.

"You know, that trick of yours is pretty neat," Natsume says. "I wish Father would teach it to Kurumi and I."

Usagi lowers her bottle from her nouth.

"You mean, Ranma hasn't taught you girls jutsus or anything?"

"Well, no. Mostly, Father is busy doing his own thing."

"Huh. Did you even ask?"

"Well, no-"

"Then, there you go. But...I can teach you a few things, since you girls did ask me to certify your right to teach 'Women's Anything Goes' martial arts."

"Wait, I thought Mother could do that."

"Um, no. Akane may be master of the Tendo School of Musabetsu Kakuto, but I'm the Grandmaster of Women's Musabetsu Kakuto. So, you could only teach your mother's arts, but NOT from the persepctive of the 'Main School'."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure Mother wouldn't mind if I learn from the Main School, so I can be a certified instructor in more than one aspect of our Art."

"Great!" Usagi says. "Considering that you are an advanced practitioner, learning the basics of the jutsus will be easy enough."

"And then?"

"And then we get to the fun part."

"Huh."

"Okay, so here's what we do FIRST..."

As Usagi begins teaching Natsume how to utilize jutsus, her mind goes back to how she and Ranma first developed the elemental jutsus, after first observing the skills of a twleve year-old boy...

FLASHBACK!

"Good-bye, Bulma!" says the young Goku Son with a wave, as he and his adopted parents Usagi and Ranma board a Capsule Corp space pod. It was the latest design from Dr. Briefs' "Capsule Corporation", which would allow the Saotome family to return to Earth (Prime) within a reasonable amount of time.

"Take care, squirt!" says Bulma, the daughter of the Briefs couple. "And don't get into trouble!"

"Thanks for the ride, Doc," Ranma says, as he shook Dr. Briefs' hands.

"Nothing to it, Ranma-my-boy," Briefs says. "As long as the boy has parents, that's thankful enough."

"Now, don't forget to write, Usagi," Mrs. Briefs says to Usagi. "And don't forget to have LOTS of children."

Usagi blushed slightly. Even though she and Ranma were married now, they couldn't consumate the relationship due to her acidic blood. She could have used the wish-fulfilling ''Dragonballs" to make her dreams come true, but since the balls could only be used once a year, it would have been selfish of her to use them for her own personal needs. No, if she was to thin out her blood, Usagi would have to resort to the use of Capsule Corp's designer medication for a while before it is safe to be in a relationship with her new husband.  
Not that there weren't other ways to be intimate though...

"We'll try, Mrs. Briefs," Usagi says with a half smile.

Meanwhile, an agent of the demented, and disgraced, Emperor Pilaf finishes placing the bomb on the main component of the warp drive.

"Get rid of YOU...no more problems," says the dark-haired Agent Mai. "And without you, my associates in the Red Ribbon Army will be ready to find those stupid Dragonballs...in a YEAR. HOHOHOHOHOHO!"

Soon, the space pod, dubbed "The Dragon's Path", leaves the space around Chikyuu (called "Earth" in the native tongue), one of many Earth-like doppelganger worlds that were created by the mysterious Preservers.

"Pops, I'm hungry," Goku says.

"Goku, we JUST ate before leaving," Ranma says. "The again...I can use a bite myself."

"COOL!"

"Usagi?" Ranma yells back. "Can you bring us something to eat?"

"Sure thing," Usagi says, as she went through the cabinets, were the food capsules are stored. She was glad to pack PLENTY of food for the trip back to Earth.

"Dinner will be ready shortly."

"Fine. Just let me set the ship on automatic, and we'll be ready to go."

After punching up the proper sequence, Ranma activated the warp engines. His sixth sense rang too late, as the engines roared to life.

"What-?"

BOOM!

The pod began to careen out of control, as it shifted in and out of warp space.

"Mayday, mayday!" Ranma yelled into the communications link. "We are having problems-"

"You think?" Usagi managed to say.

"Pops, what's happening?"

"We are going to have to make an emergncy shunt back into normal space, but to WHERE, I don't know."

"Strap into your seat, hon," Usagi says.

"Okay," Goku replied, as he did as he was told.

"Y'all in?" Ranma says.

"I am!"

"Me, too, dear."

"Good, here GOES...!"

SKREEEEEEEEE-!

Meanwhile, on the planet known to its inhabitants as "Jeegoo" (called "Earth" in the native tongue), a brother and sister (teenaged) pair are out fishing in the bitter cold of that world's southern arctic region.

"I'm telling you, Katara," says the older boy. "We'll get some food just yet."

The girl looks up with annoyance.

"You've been saying that all morning, Sokka," the girl replied.

"Humph!" Sokka says. He the sees a falling object.

"Wait, what's that?" Sokka says, as it points to the object.

Katar looks up, and frowns.

"It's...coming OUR way!" Katara yelled.

"No kidding!" Sokka says. "JUMP!"

The siblings leap onto a nearby floating ice-sheet, just as the metal object comes crashing into the water.

SPLASH!

It then hits a nearby block of ice, halting it in its tracks...

"What is THAT?" Katara asked.

"How am I suppose to know?" Sokka yells.

Katara, who was already angry at her brother, stomps her feet.

"Sokka, NOW is NOT the time to get ON MY CASE!"

A power seemed to spike within the girl, causing a glowing ice ball to emerge from the depths of the water. At the same time, a hatch on the side of the object pops open.

"What the heck was that?" Ranma says, as he felt a surge of energy from outside. He looks down.

"You two okay?"

"I am, Pops," Goku says.

"Me, too, Ranma," Usagi replies. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure-"

"Hey, YOU!" yells a voice from below.

Ranma looks down to see a teenager holding a spear at him. Already, Ranma became famiuliar with the boys language, thanks to passing the "Test of the World Tree", which allows him to speak any Earth language. And, apparently, the boy was speaking an Earth language.

"Huh?"

"Who are you?" the boy demanded, while the girl was paying more attention to the glowing ball of ice. "You could have gotten myself and my sister killed, you know!"

"Oh," Ranma says. "I'm 'Ranma Saotome'...and sorry about...this..."

Tbc.

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**Author's note: Yep, this is the "Avatar: The Last Airbender" tie-in, with "Dragonball" elements. So, Goku Son is still a kid, and has yet to learn how to fly (as does Usagi and Ranma). In this lore, there are doppelganger worlds that look like Earth. So, on one planet, there is the world of DBZ, on another, One Piece, on another, Pokemon, and so on. Some are known to the Federation, while others are not. As for Usagi's condition, her newest body is based upon the cloning techniques as seen in "Alien Resurrection". So, she has enhanced physical abilities and predatory instincts, but her blood is acidic, which is why she has not gone on a proper honeymoon with her new husband Ranma. For now, she is concentrating on thinning out her blood, and taking care of her and Ranma's adopted child Goku. Finally, the title of this latest addition is a clue to what "bending" arts Ranma, Usagi and Goku will be mastering (Ranma will figure out a way to master all the elements, since he'll see it as a challenge, but only the Avatar will have his "Avatar state" as the "wild card" that trumps Ranma's abilities if need be). Which ones that the new arrivals will learn will be up to you (at least until I am sure that I won't get any further input on this matter). C&C are always welcomed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**SMST: Earth, Wind and Fire! – By DS Wynne**

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**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

* * *

**Part 2**

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Meanwhile…

"Ah," says the older, middle-aged gentleman with the knot top and facial hair, as he drank his tea of the deck of a small "cruiser" (called "The Agni"). "There is nothing finer than piping hot tea in the cold, nephew."

An older teenager, dressed in an ox-blood (with red trim) light armor, and sported a "queue" (shaved head with braid), scoffed.

"Uncle Iroh, all you think of is TEA," the boy says, as he turns to face his uncle. The burn over his left eye was shaped like a fiery comet, which enhanced his menacing, yet handsome, scowl. "We're SUPPOSED to be trying to find the Avatar, so that I can reclaim my HONOR."

The man once known as "The Dragon of the West" sighs.

"Zuko, the Avatar has not been seen in over one-hundred years. We do not know if he is alive or not, or if he is a different person now. All we can do is take it easy…and relax."

"Humph! That's easy for YOU to say. Unlike YOU, I WANT my honor back."

The Fire Nation Prince returns his gaze towards the outstretched southern arctic seas.

"Besides, I can almost FEEL the Avatar's presence around here-"

Suddenly, a huge, stream light could be seen shooting upwards into the sky. Although it was far away, the Agni rocked a bit from the force of the display.

"I KNEW it!" Zuko yells. He then turns to his uncle.

"See?"

"So I do," Iroh replied, as he inwardly sighs. So much for having a peaceful exile…

"Good," Zuko says, as he turns to his men. "Everyone, prepare for battle. I do not want to take ANY chances of losing the Avatar."

"Yes, Prince Zuko!" yells the men in unison.

Meanwhile…

"Whoa," Ranma says, as he gets up. Very rarely can one such as he witness power at its purest…and this is coming from a man who routinely engage powerful aliens and gods.

"Pops, are you okay?" Goku says, as he helps his foster-father up to his feet.

"Um, sure," Ranma replied, as he looks over to where Usagi was. She had been checking out the glowing ice block, when Goku began tapping on it.

"I…I'm sorry for that," Goku replies.

"Ah, it's not a problem," Ranma says. Truth to be told, he was glad that Goku's curiosity released whatever it was inside.

"See?" Sokka yelled. "I KNEW these guys were bad news!"

Sokka's sister, Katara, turns to face her brother.

"Sokka, knock it off," Katara says, as she waved off the steam.

"Hey, I'm just putting it out there. It's not everyday that three people—and one of them happens to have a TAIL—fall out of the sky. For all we know, they could be of the Fire Nation."

"You keep on mentioning that name like it's a bad thing," Ranma says.

"Sokka, what is this…Fire Nation?" Usagi asked.

"You don't KNOW what the Fire Nation IS?" Sokka says in disbelief. "It's like this evil empire that is trying to take over the world!"

"Maybe we should focus on the kid," Ranma says, as he points to the kid lying down besides a…six-legged BISON?

"Ranma is right," Katara says, as she goes over the unconscious boy. He was bald, dressed like a monk, and had a blue tattoo that pointed to the front on his scalp. Katara goes onto her knees, and takes a close look at the boy…

And then, the boy opens his eyes.

"Will you go penguin sledding with me?" the boy asked.

"Huh?" Katara says.

"Ah, that's SO cute," Usagi says.

The boy looks over to where the rest of Katara's party was standing. There was only one thing he could say.

"Why does that kid have a monkey's tail?"

Goku hops over to the boy.

"Hi!" Goku says. "My name is 'Goku'. You want to be friends?"

The kid was about to say something when he sneezed.

"AH-CHOO!"

The sneeze caused him to shoot backwards, up and down…though he did land gracefully.

"Wow, that's neat!"

Ranma blinked his eyes.

"I'll say," Ranma says.

"You know, based upon what I've seen, this place has strong ties to 'Elemental Magic'," Usagi says.

"Perhaps, but I see a lot more use of 'chakra' than 'mana'," Ranma says.

"You mean 'bending'?" Sokka says.

"What's that?" Goku asked.

"'Bending' is manipulating the elements as a part of the harmonious cycle," the boy says, as he stretches. "You see, I'm an 'airbender'."

"And I'm a 'waterbender'," Katara says.

"And I'm hungry," Sokka interjects. "And we are stuck in the middle of NO WHERE."

"It's no problem," the boy says. "By the way, my name is 'Aang'."

"And you met 'Goku'," Katara says.

"Hi!"

"And that is my brother Sokka-"

"Yo."

"And these are 'Ranma' and 'Usagi'. They are Goku's parents."

Aang looks at the Saotome couple, noting how young they appeared to him.

"Wow, you two must have been kids to have Goku as parents."

"Actually, we adopted Goku," Usagi says. "But thank you for the compliment."

"Well, we better get going," Aang says. "You all can get on Appa's back."

"NEATO!" Goku says enthusiastically. "I got shot gun!"

"What?"

Usagi turns to Ranma.

"So, what's the verdict on our ship?"

"Well, the engines are shot, and, if the rest of the planet is like this area, we're going to be here for a LONG time."

"But…all we need to do is get the parts for it, right?"

"That's it. We'll need a way to MAKE the parts from scratch, if need be. I don't know where we can at least forge the parts, or if there is any ore to work with."

Usagi puts her hand on Ranma's arm.

"Even if we have to remain here for the rest of our lives, I wouldn't want to be here without you by my side."

Ranma takes Usagi's right hand and squeezes it gently.

"Come on, you love birds," Sokka mocked. "Let's get out here."

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma says, as he presses a hidden button on the side of the ship-

POOF!

Now returning to capsule mode, Ranma pockets the craft.

"How did he-?" Aang asks.

"We've been asking that ALL afternoon," Sokka says.

Curiously, when Usagi was about to get on Appa's back, when the bison began to snort angrily.

"What's wrong with Appa?" Katara asks.

"I'm not sure," Aang says. "What's wrong boy?"

Animals tend to be more sensitive that humans. Thus, to the six-legged flying bison, it sensed a predatory species within Usagi.

"It's okay, Aang," Usagi says sadly. "I'll walk…"

However distrustful Appa was of the thing within Usagi, the soul of the Moon Princess called out to the flying beast.

Appa, in an act of friendship, licks Usagi's entire body.

SLURP!

"Ewww!" Usagi says, as she felt moist all over…VERY moist.

Ranma and the rest of the assembled people merely laughed.

"Well, that's that," Aang says, as Usagi climbed unto Appa back. "Watch what Appa can REALLY do!"

The flying bison gets up, and with one giant leap-

SPLASH!

It found itself in the water.

"Oh, how AMAZING," Sokka says sarcastically.

"Ah, Appa just needs to get used to moving, that's all," Aang says, as Appa paddles forward towards Sokka and Katara's village.

Tbc.


	3. Chapter 3

**SMST: Earth. Wind and Fire! By DS Wynne**

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**Disclaimer: "Sailor Moon", "Ranma ½", "Star Trek", "Dragonball", "Avatar" and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

**Special note: This story takes place shortly after the defeat on Piccolo Daimao on Chikyuu.**

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**Part 3**

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The village that Sokka and Katara belonged to was similar to many ice-based communities that Ranma and Usagi were already familiar with. What were not familiar were the polar bear-dog and the otter-penguin. It was as if some god or alien intelligence got bored one day and began to "smoosh" the more familiar Earth creatures at random. Still, this was not as strange as the talking anthropomorphic creatures that exist along side humans…and dinosaurs back on Chikyuu.

In the meantime, Ranma was trying to get the planets position using the astrocompass that Dr. Briefs had given him. It was not powerful enough to give him a spot-on location of this planet the inhabitants call "Jeegoo" (translate as "Earth" in the Korean dialect), but Ranma can use his skill as a navigator to pinpoint how far off course "The Dragon's Way" went.

"Hmmm," Ranma says, as he looks into the sky with his compass. Ranma was wearing a "gortex" parka that kept him quite warm.

"WEEEEEEEE!" Aang yells, as he slides by on the back of an otter-penguin. "This is fun, Katara!"

"I know, isn't?" Katara replied, as she tried to keep up on the back of HER penguin.

Sokka had exited one of the huts to do a quick errand, when Aang and Katara slide by, causing an embankment of snow to cover the boy in the process.

SKEEEEEE-!

WHISH!

"Gah!" Sokka yelled, as he fell back covered with ice. "KATARA!"

Ranma merely chuckled-

"Son, how are things going?" says an older voice.

Ranma turns to face an older woman.

"Oh, nothing," Ranma says. "I'm just trying to determine where this planet is located in the heavens."

"I'm sorry that my village is of any use to you," the woman known as "Gran-Gran" says. "But I am sure that you will find the way home-"

"WEEEEEEEE!" Goku yells, as he slides by on the back of another otter-penguin.

"Well, as long as my family is safe, I'm not in a hurry-"

"WEEEEEEEE!" Usagi yells, as she slides by Ranma on the back of yet another otter-penguin.

"And it seems as if your friends are enjoying themselves here, too…"

Ranma nods his head in reply. After what has happened during the past year, it was nice to have a chance to relax for once…especially after surviving the wraith of the sinister Namek known as Piccolo Daimao. In spite of wanting to take on Piccolo, Ranma knew that Goku had to be the one to confront the evil half of Kattasuu-sama, the Kami of Chikyuu. He might not have agreed with Kami's assessment, but even he knew that Goku had to face his destiny.

'Kattasuu…' Ranma thought to himself. 'You've certainly earned your title of 'Kami', even if you aren't one…'

Ranma, being as experienced as he was about the ways of the Universe, understood that Kattasuu was really a powerful alien, and not a god…though that made very little difference if one was about to face death. If it hadn't been for his use of the Sharingan during his fight against Kattasuu's servant Mr. Popo, an immortal jinni, he and the rest of his family would have been turned away at Kami's Palace. He was glad that Kattasuu was nice enough to train him and his family for a little while before embarking on the trip back to Earth. Still, in spite of being an alien, the guardian of Chikyuu was a better 'man' than most gods Ranma was familiar with. Heck, technically, he and Usagi were 'godlings', due to the fact that their respective souls were 'harmonized' with the very Source of all Creation, a key prerequisite for ANY god or alien intelligence. Even so, being a godling only conveyed immortality and the proverbial "bonus roll" (to use a role-playing game term).

Other than that, a godling has to develop his or her personal power, and still have to worry about being killed in battle…not that Ranma and his young family are defenseless in this regard. Being the 'training junkie' that Ranma was, he took to the various training techniques like a fish to water, as did his son Goku. It did take some coaxing to get Usagi to train, due to the fact that she was depressed a lot for not being able to be intimate with Ranma after the two got married (in order to legally adopt Goku). Nevertheless, Ranma learned the methods of the Kame Senin ("Turtle Hermit") Ryu from that pervert Master Roshi, which includes the Kame-Hame-Ha (which allowed Ranma to forgo the need to generate energy attacks based on emotion), the "Distructo Disc", and a more advanced version of the Splitting Cat-Hairs technique called the "After-Image Technique". Learning these techniques, in addition to wearing "weighted training" clothes increased his overall strength and speed, though not by much (due to knowing the "Big Dipper Fist" years before). And to think Usagi and Ranma (in his female form) had to show off their bodies just to get Roshi to teach them and their son. Jerk.

Besides the Kame Senin Ryu, the Saotomes as a whole adopted the Tsuru Senin ("Crane Hermit") Ryu, after its chief practitioner, the talented three-eyed Tenshinhan broke with his master, after his master proved to be dishonorable at Goku's last martial arts tournament. It was its more graceful style that attracted Usagi to the Art, which is probably why Usagi, unlike himself, is a master of the technique. Tsuru Senin Ryu consists of the "Air Dance Technique" (the ability to fly), the precise energy emitting "Dodon-Pa", the more-familiar Kiai Technique (a psychokinetic attack using one's "chi"), the Tri-Beam Canon, and the Taiyouken Technique ("blinding flash").

To be sure, the Saotomes are familiar with both "Hermit Arts", but the skill levels between Ranma and Usagi were not consistent. Ranma focused on those techniques that complimented his own Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu (which was used as a means of trading for different techniques), while Goku simply wanted to train with his new father. Usagi, on the other hand, simply learn as a way of tempering the alien predator that lurked within her. Having gotten sick of Roshi's perverted ways, Usagi found another training master: the Crane Hermit. Unknown to her at the time, the Crane Hermit had merely wanted to use her in a scheme against his rival the Turtle Hermit. In the end, Usagi was not turned against her husband and son, though she did enjoy beating the holy heck out of Roshi. United once again, the Saotome family exchanged what they knew as a sign of solidarity. So while Ranma (and Goku) was a master of the Turtle Hermit Arts, he was only an adept in the Crane Hermit Arts; and while Usagi was an adept of the Turtle Arts, she became a master of the Crane Hermit Arts.

Later on, the family moved to Kami's Palace for additional training, but cut their stay short in order to go on a nice family vacation…or so they thought.

"Ranma, may I ask you a favor?"

Ranma turns to Gran-gran.

"Sorry, but I'm taken," Ranma says with a smile.

"Cute. No, it's about my grand-daughter Katara."

"Whoa, whoa. You're not asking me to-"

"Of course not," Gran-gran says. "Beside being too young, I do not like the idea of a betrothal."

"Okay, but then…?"

"With the Avatar here, I have a feeling that my granddaughter will play an important in his life. And I would not be surprised if she and her brother Sokka will be accompanying the Avatar to his…destiny."

"Personally, I believe one should make their own destiny-"

BOOM!

"What the heck was that?" Ranma says, as he and Gran-Gran exits the family hut.

"That…sound came from the Fire Nation ship," Gran-Gran says.

Ranma nods his head, and runs to the direction of the sound. He stops, and sees his family and their friends standing in front of the old ship that was propped up by ice. From what he was told, this was a result of a counter-attack by water benders…

"What's going on?" Ranma asked.

"Heh," Goku says, as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, Aang and I were exploring the ship, and well-"

"I'm sorry about this, Ranma," Usagi says. "I kind of let them do that…"

"Aang and I got stuck in a trap on board the ship," Katara says.

"I just wanted to know what was happening," Aang says with worry. "But now…"

"Guys, look!" Sokka yelled, as he points to the burning stack of a fire nation vessel.

"Oh, no!" Katara says fearfully. "Now…now I might go away, too…"

Everyone seemed pensive, until-

"Neat, we get to meet more people!" Goku says enthusiastically, which warranted a collective sweatdrop.

"…"

"Well, I better get ready to meet them," Sokka says grimly, as he heads back the village.

"Sokka, don't-!" Katara called out.

"What's Sokka doing?" Usagi asks.

Katara looks down dejectedly.

"Ever since Father and the other tribesmen went off to war, Sokka has been trying to be the man of village," Katara says. "But…I don't want him to get hurt…"

"Well, with us around, NO ONE will be," Usagi says with a smile.

"Oh?"

A short time later, Prince Zuko and his entourage steps down from the gangplank. Meanwhile, Sokka, dressed in traditional war garb, gets ready to attack the lead man: Zuko.

"Okay, I'm ready," Sokka says, as he crouches.

"Um, Sokka, you REALLY shouldn't do this," Ranma says. From the mannerism of the approaching men, these guys were professional soldiers…

"Shut up!" Sokka says. "It's MY responsibility to protect the Southern Water Tribe."

Ranma sighs, as he steps back.

"Ranma…?" Usagi began to ask.

"No, we agreed to NOT show anyone what we can do…unless necessary," Ranma says. He then turns to his son. "And that means YOU, too, Goku."

"Ah, man," Goku says.

"Maybe these people are not bad," Aang says.

"Don't be so naïve, Aang," Katara says.

"Well, maybe they just need to know that there is a better way than fighting…"

As Zuko crossed the plank, Sokka charged.

"Ahhhhhhh-!"

Without a misstep, Zuko performs "round-house" kick on Sokka, knocking the boy off the plank.

"Oh, boy," Ranma says, as he shakes his head.

"Okay, you PEASANTS!" Zuko yelled. "Where is the Avatar?"

Before Aang could answer-

"Hi, I'm the 'Avatar'!" Goku says. "You want to be friends?"

"Goku?" Usagi asked quietly.

Tbc.


	4. Chapter 4

**SMST: Earth, Wind and Fire! – By DS Wynne**

* * *

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other genres belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

* * *

**Part 4**

* * *

Ranma turned sharply towards his son.

'What are you doing-?' Ranma thought.

Goku Saotome steps forth to face the scarred teen that demanded to meet the Avatar. He didn't want his new friend Aang to face a possible threat, if he could not defend himself. So…

"Yes, I am the Avatar," Goku says. "What's up?"

Prince Zuko, of the Fire Nation, smiles.

"At last," Zuko says. "I am Prince Zuko of the 'Fire Nation'. You will come with me. NOW."

"What if I don't?"

"Then I will take you…by force!"

Ranma notices a sudden spike in this new person's aura.

"Goku, watch-" Ranma began to yell. But-

FWOOSH!

After performing some sort of kata, before releasing a concentrated blast of fire towards Goku.

'Wait,' Ranma thought to himself. 'Isn't that an Itachi attack?'

Before getting lost across the space-time continuum, Ranma fought a person named "Itachi Uchiha", who claimed to be his cousin on his father's side. Ranma had barely one the fight, but not before realizing his potential as a "Sharingan" user. As such, Ranma realized why he could easily adopt other people's martial arts techniques, as well as possessing phenomenal reflexes and hand-eye coordination. Itachi had used a similar fire elemental attack during their fight, which Ranma had quickly adopted. Ranma would not know until later, that he would be the reason for such attacks, having gone back in time to inspire the very founder of the Uchiha clan, and their signature attack strategy. But for now, Ranma was on a course to fulfill a paradox of significant proportions…

Goku was about to respond, when-

FWOOSH!

A gust of concentrated air blew the attack apart.

"What?" Zuko says, as he turns to see Aang.

"I'm the Avatar, Prince Zuko," Aang says, as he steps forth. "I will go with you, if you leave my new friends alone."

"Aang?" Katara says with worry.

Usagi turns to Ranma.

"Ranma-"

"Not now," Ranma replied. "Later."

"I'm not going to let you take my new friend," Goku says. "I-"

"Goku, later."

Goku was about to protest, when he sees his adopted mother nod her head.

"Okay…"

"Well, it looks like you are successful, Prince Zuko," says an older man, who comes up behind Zuko.

"So it seems," Zuko replied.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Aang says to his new friends.

"Eh, it's been nice to meet you, kid," Sokka says.

After waving good-bye, Aang is escorted onto Zuko's ship.

"How can you all just stand there and do nothing?" Katara complained, as Zuko's ship leaves her village.

"Because, my child, our new friend has a reason for his silence," says Gran-Gran, as she steps forth. "Right, Ranma?"

"Yes," Ranma says, as he gets his gear ready.

"I get now," Goku says. "You didn't want to risk harm to this village."

"Yep."

"Ranma, what's the plan?" Usagi asks.

"Well-"

"Wait," Katara says. "I'm coming."

"Katara-" Sokka begins to say.

"Someone has to watch out for Aang, and we can't let these strangers do ALL the work."

"Then, I shall give this to you," Gran-Gran says, as she took off her necklace. "This was given to me by a special person, of whom I was intended to marry."

"Gran-Gran…?" Katara says, as she accepted the gift.

"Wear it with pride…and honor."

"Well, if Katara is leaving, then I better come along, too," Sokka says. "Someone has to watch out for 'little sister'."

"Thanks, Sokka."

"It's been nice to meet you, ma'am," Goku says with a bow.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of the kids," Ranma says.

"Hey!" Sokka yelled.

"I know. I have a feeling that my grandchildren will have great destinies."

"Come on," Usagi says, as she began to float into the air. "We have to get Appa and catch up."

Everyone, save for Ranma and Goku, was looking at her in disbelief.

"What?"

"Um, why are you up there?" Sokka says.

"We have to hurry," Goku says, as he takes out a capsule. He then smashes it on the ground.

POOF!

Out pops a solid cloud.

"Nimbus!" Goku says happily, as he hops on.

"Wow, you guys are full of tricks," Katara says.

"Heh, you have no idea," Ranma says.

A short time later, the gang catches up to Zuko's ship. From their vantage point, they could see Zuko and Aang fight on the deck of Zuko's ship.

"Wow, that didn't take long," Usagi says.

"With all that fire, how can we reach them?" Sokka says, as he held onto Appa's saddle.

Ranma looks at the situation.

"Goku, swoop down to the port of the ship. Katara, when I give you the cue, use your waterbending to create a nice tidal wave. Usagi, prepare to use your Solar Flash technique."

"Right!" says the aforementioned names.

"And what about me?" Sokka asked.

"You just sit there and watch."

"Ah, man…I get to do NOTHING?"

Usagi gets into place.

"Okay," Usagi says. "I see Goku moving into place…there! He just yelled to Aang to jump unto Nimbus. Their flying away…that Zuko guy is yelling. Oh, Katara is causing a mild wave to keep Zuko and that other guys off balance…NOW."

Usagi forms a triangle over her forehead, as Zuko and his uncle Iroh was about to respond. Her crescent moon mark appears within that triangle.

"Solar…FLASH!"

FWOOSH!

"What the-?" Zuko says, as he and Iroh are blinded. When they could see again, the object of their pursuit was gone.

"Where did they go?"

Iroh merely chuckled. Whatever they attractive girl—the one with the weird hairstyle—did, she used a classic fake-out.

Yep, life was about to get very interesting indeed.

"I would not worry, nephew," Iroh says, as he straightens his clothes. "I have a feeling that we will soon see them again."

"I better," Zuko says. "Without the Avatar, I can't reclaim my honor."

Iroh could only sigh, knowing that his nephew's quest to reclaim his honor will be a lot more difficult to achieve in the end.

Meanwhile, the Avatar and his new friends are flying northward on Appa's large back.

"So, can you teach me?" Sokka asked. Sokka decided to break down and study martial arts from this strange couple.

"Huh? Huh?"

Usagi and Ranma look at each other. Usagi nods her head.

"Sure, but I expect real commitment from you."

"Hey, I have NO problem with commitment."

"We'll see."

"Aaang, be careful!" Katara calls out.

"Hey, Katara, this is fun!" Aang says, as he and Goku fly around Nimbus. Only a person with a pure heart could fly the elemental.

"Ha-ha!" Goku says, as he performs a loop.

"What do you think we'll find at this…'Southern Air Temple'?" Usagi asks.

"Hopefully, more techniques," Ranma says. "If nothing else, we can exchange ideas and stuff."

"You think you can learn 'bending'?" Katara asks.

"I don't see why not. The basic properties seem to same as any other technique. I just got to figure out a way to convert them to my use."

Usagi ceased to pay attention to the conversation. She was thinking about how she wished that she had brought Tho-Ohki—her pet cabbit—with her on the trip. Then again, Tho-Ohki had been staying with Neo-Queen Hoshi, of Crystal Tokyo, since he had been too sick to make the trip to Chikyuu from Earth (for the last martial arts tournament there). That's why the Saotomes were heading back to Earth in the first place, so that Usagi could visit her pet…

"Usagi?"

Usagi turns to Ranma.

"Yes?"

"You okay?"

"Ah, it's nothing," Usagi says, as she turns around. "The fact of the matter is that we're committed to the place."

"So, you're staying?" Katara asked.

"Yep. Besides, we DID promise to teach Sokka how to actually fight, you know."

"Hey!" Sokka replied with indignation.

Katara could only giggle.

Tbc.

* * *

**Next Time: A visit to the Southern Air Temple reveals a tragedy! Plus, the gang meets the warriors of Kiyoshi Island! See you then!**


	5. Chapter 5

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other genres belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

**Special note: The change in title reflects the essential nature of the story. "Ether" is the so-called "fifth element", and stands for "balance" amongst the elements earth, wind, fire and water (which is consistent with Eastern and Western mysticism, though under different names and importance). As the Avatar, Aang, the last "Air-Bender", represents that fifth element. Thus, the so-called "ethereal path" is the journey that our heroes are on, thus the need to change the name. Furthermore, the notion will serve as a key aspect of the eventual "Fifth Element" (and related ideas) tie-in at the end of this story as well.**

* * *

**Part 5**

* * *

"There it is," Aang says, as he points the gleaming towers that sat on top of the mountain. "That's the Southern Air Temple."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sokka says dismissively, as he concentrated on raising a piece of fruit with his mind. He was just glad that Usagi's "Soul Touch" technique—the primer that allows a person access to his or her personal chakra network—didn't make him go crazy…like Ranma said it might do.

"Feel this apple with your mind, Sokka," Usagi says gently. "Let nature flow through you, and into the object of your desire…"

As part of the curriculum that the Saotomes have developed, Ranma will work on the material arts with the boy from the Southern Water Tribe, while Usagi worked on the immaterial arts.

"You're NOT going to do it, Sokka," Katara says, as she dryly. "You're not a bender…of any kind."

"Aw, quiet, Katara!" Sokka yelled. "If Usagi and Ranma says I have potential to learn this…Force, that I'm going to at least try. Can't a big brother get ANY sort of support from his little sister?"

"Well, we did say that it wouldn't be easy," Ranma says, as he leans back on the large saddle that was strapped onto Appa's back. "Heck, it took even ME a while to learn the mental stuff."

"But we also said that it can be done," Usagi says, as she demonstrated her point by raising her own piece of fruit. "It'll take some time."

"So, Aang, what are we going to do at your place?" Goku asked.

"Oh, there's lots of stuff to do," Aang says enthusiastically. "Maybe we can meet Monk Gyatso."

"Who?" Katara asked.

"He was my personal teacher at the temple," Aang says wistfully. "You guys will like him."

"Do you think he and the other monks will be willing to trade techniques?" Ranma asked.

"Well, I don't know, but I'm sure Monk Gyatso will not mind."

"So, will you be able to learn 'air-bending'?" Katara asked.

"It's possible," Ranma says. "Whenever you and Katara 'bend', I notice a spike in your respective chakra networks. If I can understand THAT…I think I can come up with a technique that could work."

"What's a 'chakra network'?"

"A chakra network are eight points of the human body that regulates the body's energy," Sokka says.

Katara looks at her brother as if he grew another head.

"…"

"What? Usagi's been teaching me this stuff, so that I can learn to do this," Sokka says, as he grunted. Slowly, the piece of fruit rose one inch off his palm.

"See? I'm doing it!"

"Wow, a whole INCH," Katara says.

"Ha! Hater."

Goku looked at the temple.

"Aang, I don't see anyone," Goku says, as he peers at the temple with his hand.

Aang squints his eyes.

"Um, maybe the monks are in meditation," Aang says. "Or they could on a pilgrimage."

"Either way, we'll learn what's going on," Ranma says, as he stretched his limbs.

Usagi says nothing, as she stares at the edifice that was the Southern Air Temple. She being more sensitive than her husband Ranma about matters of life, detected something amiss…

"This is it, guys," Aang says, as he hops off of Appa.

"Wow, this place is quiet," Goku says.

"Do they have anything to eat around here?" Sokka asked. "I'm starving."

"Sokka, you just ate a few hours ago," Katara says.

"Well, learning this stuff is makes me hungry."

"Let's just find Monk Gyatso first, and then we can eat," Ranma says. He then turns to his wife. "How are our supplies?"

"Well, considering the fact that we were only planning a day's trip back to Earth, I say we have…a day's supply," Usagi says.

"Great…"

"So does that mean we'll starve?"

"No, it doesn't. And still have more studying to do. So go over THERE."

"Hhhh!" Sokka says, as he sits next to Appa on a bench.

"Moorf!" Appa says.

"You and me both, Appa!"

The rest of the gang searched the immediate grounds, and found nothing. And then, they see a large door.

"Ranma, look how pretty this design is," Usagi says, as she felt the elaborate piping. "Hey, Ranma, doesn't this like organ piping?"

"Yeah, it does," says Ranma. He then turns to Aang.

"Hey, this has to be some sort of elaborate locking mechanism, huh?"

"Yes," Aang says. "You have to be an air-bender to open it up."

Goku raps the door with his extension staff.

BANG! BANG!

"So, are we going to go in?"

"Let it to me," Aang says, as he performs the appropriate bending.

FWOOOSH!

As Ranma examines the action, the sustained burst of air triggers the locking mechanism.

CLACK!

"There," Aang says, as he stops his actions.

Goku taps the door, causing the door to slam inward.

BOOM!

Aang jumped back in surprise. The doors were made from heavy oak that would require more than one person to open it.

"Wow," Katara says.

"S-sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Aang says. "We better see what is going on…"

Meanwhile, Sokka is practicing floating fruit off his palms.

"Why is it that I have to do THIS, while the others have an adventure or something-?"

SNATCH!

Suddenly, some small, furry "thing" snatches the fruit.

"Hey!" Sokka says, as he spots…a flying lemur. It chirped as it ate the fruit.

"Alright!" Sokka says, as he took out his club. "MEAT!"

Sensing doom, the lemur flew into the now opened temple…

"Wow," Katara says, as she sees hundreds of stone statues in place. "Who were they?"

"They're my previous incarnations," Aang says. He then spots one particular statue. This one had long hair, a mustache-less beard and a topknot with an ornament in place.

"This one looks like one of those firebenders," Ranma says.

"This is…Avatar Roku," Aang says.

"How do you know?" Goku asked.

"I…I just do," Aang says.

"Where is that thing?" says a familiar voice.

Ranma turns towards Sokka.

"What are you doing here?" Ranma asked.

"Getting something to eat- THERE it is!"

Everyone turns to see a flying lemur skulking about, before heading back out to avoid the company of people.

"Come back here!" Sokka yelled. "You're my dinner-"

GRAB!

"Let's not embarrass ourselves further, okay?" Ranma says.

"That's…that's a lemur!" Aang says, as he ran outside after the creature.

"Wait up!" Katara says.

"Me, too!" Goku says, as his new friend.

Meanwhile, Usagi looks at the Roku statue. She then touches it…

FLASH!

All at once, images began to pour into her mind…ending with the man behind the statue saying one word:

"Azula…"

FLASH!

"Whoa," Usagi says, as she staggers backwards.

"Usagi, are you okay?" Ranma says, as he holds up his wife for support.

"I…I guess so," Usagi says. "I…I touched this Roku statue, and a bunch of images flowed into my head. It'll take me days, if not weeks, to sort the images out."

Ranma looks at the Roku statue.

"Anything else?"

"I-"

Suddenly, Ranma and Usagi's respective senses seem to explode, as the eyes of every statue light up.

"Pops! Ma-!"

"Goku!" Usagi says with concern.

Ranma nods his head, and, with Usagi in tow, heads to the source of the disturbance.

**Tbc.**


	6. Chapter 6

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

* * *

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other genres belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

**Author's note: As a reminder, neither Ranma nor Usagi have yet to receive the training from King Kai or Piccolo (circa "Saiyan Saga" era), and Usagi is still getting used to her new body, five years after returning from the dead (see: "Aliens Resurrection"). C&C are always welcomed.**

* * *

**Part 6**

* * *

As Ranma and Usagi approached the source of the metaphysical disturbance, they could hear their adopted son's voice.

"Aang, don't!" Goku cried out, as he forced himself to move forward against the gale.

"Ahh!" Katara yelled, as she was thrown back.

"Katara!" Sokka called, as he followed suit.

"I got you!" Ranma says, as he grabbed the Water Tribe siblings.

"Th-thanks!" Katara managed to say, as she held onto Ranma.

"How are you able to withstand all this?" Sokka yelled.

"Pure will," Ranma said confidently. "Pure will."

"More like pure bull-"

"AANG!" Goku yelled, as he sees the glow in his new friend's eyes and arrow tattoos.

"I have it," Usagi says, as she touches her son's shoulders.

Goku looks at his adopted mother and nods his head.

Usagi then turns her full attention towards the Avatar. As she did so, she tapped directly into her Moon Princess incarnation…

"Look!" Sokka yells, as Usagi's clothes changes into a gown.

WAP!

"Ow!"

"Don't look, Sokka!" Katara fumed.

"But I wasn't-!"

With ease, The Moon Princess effortlessly walks over to Aang…and then hugs the boy.

"It's okay, Aang," Princess Serena says, as she speaks in a calm manner. "It's not your fault. You did not know that the Fire Nation would have invaded the Southern Air Temple…"

The presence of Princess Serena seems to do the trick, as the glow within Aang seems to go out. As that happened, Usagi is restored to normal as well.

"Thank you," Aang manages to say.

Usagi smiles.

"You're quite welcome, Aang."

"Aang!" Goku yells, as he goes over to his friend. "Are you okay?"

"I guess so, but seeing Monk Gyatso like this-"

"We know, Aang," Katara says, as she looks over to the remains of Aang's friend.

"We can give your friend a proper burial," Ranma says.

"And I'll help," Sokka interjects.

"I appreciate that," Aang says, as he felt "a group hug".

And then, the flying lemur, that Aang was chasing earlier, hops on Aang's shoulders.

"Hey, little guy," Aang says, as he gave the lemur a piece of fruit.

"Alright, you found our dinner!" Sokka says enthusiastically.

"No, he's a friend," Aang says.

"But-"

"Give it a rest, Sokka," Katara says.

"What are you going to name him?" Goku asked.

"Um…how about 'Momo'?"

"That sounds like a nice name," Usagi says.

Ranma surveys the scene.

"Aang, is there a place where we can lay Monk Gyatso to rest?"

"I think so," Aang says hesitantly.

"Come, let's get started."

"Wait up!" Goku says, as he ran after Ranma and Aang.

"What about food?" Sokka whined.

"Must you ALWAYS think about food, Sokka?" Katara says.

"I'll fix you something to eat, Sokka," Usagi says.

Sokka's stomach growled noticeably.

"Um, really?"

Usagi smiles.

"Really."

A day later, Aang and his friends found themselves over warmer waters.

"So you don't remember anything about that…statue?" Ranma asked.

"No…well, not in so many details," Usagi says.

"But…what about that thing you did to calm Aang down?" Katara says, as she sewed Sokka's pants.

"What about it?"

"You mentioned the 'Fire Nation'," Sokka says, as he continued to meditate.

"It…might have been because of that statue," Usagi says. "When I change, I…I recall stuff that I should not know…at least in my own life."

"Maybe it's like when I go into my Avatar state," Aang says, as he practices some simple airbending techniques…using marbles as the means. "I don't remember stuff either."

"You're probably right…"

"Well, I think it's neat that you can change like Aang, Ma," Goku says, as he performs a handstand while playing with Momo.

"Maybe, but I like to be in control, you know?"

"There, all done," Katara says, as she tosses Sokka's pants to her brother.

Whap!

"Hey!" Sokka says, as he removed the pants from his face.

"Well, maybe you should be careful about ripping your pants."

"Ah, but it's woman's work!"

"Then consider this woman on strike!"

"I'll take care of your laundry," Usagi says.

"Um, you don't have to," Sokka says, as he rubs the back of his head while laughing nervously. "I mean, I can do it…I guess…"

"GRROWL!" Appa roared.

"Sounds like Appa needs a rest," Aang says.

Ranma scans the area.

"How about over there?" Ranma says, as he spots an island close by.

"I don't see why not," Usagi says.

"Then it settled then," Aang says, as he takes the reins. "Yip-yip, Appa!"

Soon enough, the gang is on the beach enjoying the day.

"I like this, Ranma," Usagi says, as she steps out of the tent with a modest bikini on.

Too bad Sokka sees this.

BLOOSH!

"Sokka!" Katara yelled.

"Er, sorry," Sokka says, as he wipes his nosebleed.

"Yeah," Ranma says, as he and Goku get ready for some fishing. "You just make sure that everything is ready for the day's catch.

"Don't worry, Ma!" Goku says enthusiastically. "We'll get lots of fish!"

"Just be careful," Usagi says, as she sits down to lounge in a lounge chair to catch some rays. "We don't know what type of predators are out here."

"HEY, KATARA!" Aang called out, as he rode on one of the fins of a local fish. "Look at me!"

"Oh, that's nice," Katara says dismissively.

Usagi sees this, but says nothing.

"Well, I deal with it later," Usagi says, as she decides to relax…

"Okay, kiddo," Ranma says. "You ready?"

"I'm ready," Goku says.

"Hey, guys, can I come?" Sokka says.

Ranma looks at Goku at first, before returning his full attention back to Sokka.

"Well, if you are coming, then there is something you should know about me first."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Goku?"

"Yes?"

"Splash me."

"Okay!" Goku says, as he splashes his adopted father…

TING!

"Wha-what-?" Sokka gawked, as Ranma changed into a buxom, redhaired vixen. Although she was wearing a T-shirt, Ranma was not wearing a bra.

BLOOSH!

"Urgh!" Sokka managed to say, as he collapsed into a twitching state.

Katara sees this.

"What is…?"

"Long story short, I received a curse that changes me into a girl upon getting wet," Ranma-onna says with a smirk.

"So…?"

"Hot water changes me back. But that's not a real problem."

Ranma-onna turns to Goku.

"Let's go do some fishing."

"Yes, sir!"

And thus, Ranma and Goku heads out to the waters.

Meanwhile, Aang saddened by the fact that Katara didn't notice him, since danger. He turns around to see a sea serpent moving after him.

"Ahhhh!" Aang yelled, as he used his airnbending to run on the surface of the water. Aang's scream caught Goku's attention; Goku had managed to capture some fish in his net, when he sees that Aang was in trouble.

"Aang!" Goku cried out. He knew that he wasn't fast enough to swim, but maybe…

Goku cupped his hands together, and placed them between his legs.

"Kamehameha!"

BLOOSH!

The force of the energy attack managed to propel Goku straight into the head of the serpent, stunning it in the process.

BASH!

Ranma-onna, who surfaces, sees this.

"Goku!"

Ranma-onna's cries alerts those on the beach.

"Goku!" Usagi called out. "Aang!"

"Aang!" Katara says, who was still helping her brother recover.

Aang turns around to see Goku. Determined, Aang manages to circle back, and grabs Goku before becoming fish food…

"Man, what that?" Sokka says, as he gets up. And then he sees Ranma-onna.

"Do you mind?"

"Sorry," Ranma-onna says. "As soon as this hot water is ready, I'll be back to normal."

"Well, at least no body has gotten hurt," Katara says. And then-

SPRUNG!

The group was now covered in a net.

"Then again…"

**Tbc.**


	7. Chapter 7

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! - By DS Wynne**

* * *

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other properties belong to their respective owner**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story**

* * *

**Part 7**

* * *

"Gah!" Aang says, as he struggles through the net. "Who did this?"

Before anyone could do anything, eight girls, dressed in green, feminine armor, and were wearing some sort of kabuki paint, jumped from the trees.

"Hold it!" says the leader, as she scans the group. "You should not be on Kyoshi Island."

Ranma-onna tilts her slightly.

"We didn't see sign or anything."

The lead girl turns to look at Ranma-onna...then at her appearance.

"You got some nerve talking like that...'girlie'."

"So says the clown."

"'Clown'?"

"People who put on face paint to amuse children."

The girl growls.

"Don't mind Ranma," Usagi says. "All of us do not like to be captured like we are criminals"

"The elders will have to decide that," the girl says.

"Say, what is your name?" Katara asked.

"If the elders approve you being here, then you'll know."

"Great," Sokka says sarcastically. "Captured for no reason."

"Oh, there IS reason, stranger...there always is."

"Pa?" Goku says to Ranma-onna. "What are we going to do?"

"Actually, we're going to get these girls to lead us to their village or whatever."

The lead girl folds her arms.

"Ha, I would like to see THAT!"

"Sure. Usagi?"

Suddenly, Usagi seemingly drops through the ground, and appears behind the squad leader with a well-placed choke-hold.

"Now, you will let us go, so we talk about this...peacefully," Usagi says.

"No!" the girl yells, as she threw Usagi overhand.

Usagi sailed over, and pulls the net off of her family and friends.

"Suki-!" one the girls yelled.

"I know!" Suki says, realizing that it was feint to allow her opponents to free her companions.

"Alright!" Aang yelled, as he recovred his glider-staff.

"Goku, strike the ground," Ranma-onna says.

"Okay!" Goku says, as he struck the ground.

BAM!

The sudden dust allowed the Avatar to create a a gust of wind, allowing the dust to blind the warriors.

"Hey!" Suki yelled. "Fan the dust out of your face!"

But when the dust clears, everyone was gone.

"Where did they go?" says one of the girls.

"I don't know, but we better inform the elders of this," says Suki, as they immediately leap and hoof back to their village.

Meanwhile, above, a cloud is following the band.

"This is pretty neat," Aang says, as he sat on Nimbus.

"Yeah, Nimbus can be AWESOME," Goku says.

"Sokka, stop struggling!" Ranma-onna says, as she held Sokka on her shoulders while gliding on wind currents, thanks to the

Olympian god of the Western Winds "Zephyrus". Years earlier, Ranma and Usagi took a fantastic journey during Earth's ancient past, and picked up boons along the way. One of them was the ability to glide on wind currents...the same ability that the fabled Amazons on "Paradise Island" had learned.

"I can't help it if you're smaller than me!"

"Well, you're going to be flatter than me if you don't hold still. And watch the hands!"

"How come you and Usagi can't use Nimbus?" Katara says, as she sits on the cloud while looking up. "I know that my brother can be a creep, but still..."

"Hey, I recent that remark!" Sokka complained.

"Simple," Usagi began, as she flew. Unlike Ranma and Goku, Usagi was the first to actually learn to fly on her own power.

"Only those of pure of heart can ride on Nimbus. Ranma and I have...done things that would disqualify us."

"Ohhhh..."

"I think I see the village ahead," Aang says, as he stands. He then turns to Momo.

"Momo, go get Appa."

"Chirp!" the flying lemur says, as it nods...before leaping off of Aang's shoulders.

"So what's the plan?" Sokka says.

"Simple," Ranma-onna says. "We drop in."

A few minutes later, Suki and her band stop in front of some sort of hall, where an older man and the rest of the village waits.

"Elder, the strangers got away," says Suki.

"Oh, dear," the Elder says, as he sighs. "We should expect trouble then."

"If so, it's not from US," says a voice from above.

Everyone from the ground looks up to see...a cloud.

"Where is that voice coming from?" The elder asked.

"Elder, stay close," Suki says.

And then, Aang and the gang drops down from the skies.

"Ah!" Suki yelled in surpirse.

"You're not going to hurt my friends!" Goku yelled, as he got his staff ready.

"But we only want to talk," Katara says. "We really mean you no harm."

"Ahh!" Ranma-onna yelled, as she and Sokka come crashing down onto the ground.

THUMP!

"Well, mostly..."

"We come in peace," Usagi says.

"Oh, yeah?" Suki says. "With your...magic, you do?"

"It's a training method that I learned called 'The Weirding Way'," Usagi says. "It allows me to move like quicksilver for short durations."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Ranma-onna says, she slaps the dirt off of herself. "Look, we only wanted to stop by here long enough to get some rest, and then we're off to the North Pole to get my friend Aang to learn 'waterbending'."

"The boy is a waterbender?" the elder asked.

"No, I'm an airbender...and the Avatar," Aang says.

"YOU...the Avatar?" the elder scoffed. "The Avatar hasn't been seen in a hundred years!"

"I know," Aang says sadly. "Somehow...I got trapped in suspended animation, after I left my home at the Southern Air Temple."

"If you ARE the Avatar, then you know while this place is named 'Kyoshi Island'," Suki says, as she points to a statue of a female warrior dressed similarly like Suki and her band.

Everyone turns to look.

"That's right," Aang says enthusiastically. "Avatar Kyoshi formed this island in order to allow her village to escape the tyranny of an Earth king."

And with that, Aang, leaps high into the air, and lands on Kyoshi's head.

"Let me show a trick," Aang says, as he takes out some marbles and uses his abilities to spin them.

"Oh, wow!" says one of the spectators. "He really IS the Avatar!"

"Ahhhh!" says another villager, as he foams at the mouth...and feints.

KLUMP!

"Uh-huh," Ranma-onna says. She then turns her attention to the situation at hand. "Look, we don't have much, but we would

like to stay here for a few days."

"What do you have that can be of worth to us?" Suki says.

Usagi thinks for a moment.

"We can...trade knowledge," Usagi says. "You give us food and shelter, and Ranma and I will teach you the Weirding Way."

"Really?"

"Really."

Suki turns to the Village Elder.

"Can they stay?"

"Hmmm...I do not see why not."

"Thank you, elder."

"Well, that's that," Ranma-onna says. "It looks like we can stay guys."

"Good, because I'm still hungry," Sokka says.

"Me, too!" Goku says.

"Boys and their stomachs," Katara says, as she shook her head.

**Tbc.**


	8. Chapter 8

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

* * *

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other genres belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

* * *

**Part 8**

* * *

Later that night…

Ranma-onna sat on the porch of the cottage that the elder had lent her and her traveling companions. She looked up into the night sky, as she continued her working in figuring out where she and her family cash-landed.

"Ranma?"

Ranma-onna looks up from her work and turn to face "her" wife.

"What's up, Usagi?"

Usagi was wearing a kimono-like outfit that was good for sleepwear. She practically glided across the floor, as she sat down next to her spouse.

"How come you're still a girl?" Usagi asked.

"Based upon the way Sokka behaved, and based upon the fact that these people are suspicious of us anyway, I rather just remain a girl."

"Well, at least Katara and Aang understands…though Katara is a bit apprehensive to share a bath with you in the community hall."

"I don't blame her," Ranma-onna says, as she yawns. "But she's a good kid."

Silence.

"So, what you got?" Usagi asked.

"Well, I kind of narrowed are location," Ranma-onna says. "We're definitely in the Milky Way Galaxy."

"I could have told you that."

"I know, but did you know that we are in Vorlon territory?"

"'Vorlon'? Why does that name sound familiar…?"

"Remember the Buu problem 10,000 years ago?"

"Ohhhhh…"

"Anyway, we ended up somewhere in their territory, which could explain why they are also known as 'The Preservers'."

"Whatever. So, do we KNOW where we are?"

"Not yet. I still need to narrow down my search…"

"Well, like it means anything," Usagi says. "I wish…the Forge could speak to me again, otherwise I would know exactly where we are…"

The Cosmic Forge was an extra-dimensional entity that grants a fragment of its power to those people with great destinies…as one of many "Cosmo-Knights". In Usagi's particular case, she was destined to destroy the entity known as "Death", one of four (or five, if one counts Death's partner "Hellfire") entities known as the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Besides the entities themselves being dangerous, there were the mounts that they rode to consider…

In the end, Usagi, as "Cosmos Knight Sailor Moon", face Death AND Hellfire…and won on the fields of Mageddon on Rifts Earth. She would continue to possess such abilities until her death some decades ago. Eventually, Usagi would return to life in a new body, but not without her powers as granted by the Cosmic Forge. In a subsequent dream, the Cosmic Forge told Usagi that until she is no longer conflicted with her newly acquired alien heritage…she would be without her cosmic abilities. Still, as disappointing as it sounded to Usagi about losing those powers, she knew that the Cosmic Forge gave her the means to reclaim them. What that entailed, Usagi still ponders to this day…

"Usagi, we both know that the Cosmic Forge has its reasons for not helping us," Ranma says. "Besides, we can manage on our own."

"Yeah, but we're still stuck on this planet."

"Maybe, but the fact is that the Fire Nation has to have some sort of manufacturing center could be of use. Otherwise, that Zuko character would not be traveling in a metal ship."

"So…should we go directly to this Fire Nation and ask for their help?"

"I don't think so," Ranma-onna says. "They sound like your usual world dominating group."

"Then how are we going to fix the ship, then?"

Ranma-onna thinks for a moment.

"We help Aang, I suppose. He goes on about restoring balance in the world as a means of stopping this war."

"Yes, this war-"

FLASH!

In Usagi's mind, she sees a comet, and then, a man on fire…and finally Roku's face.

"Azula."

FLASH!

"Ohhhhh," Usagi says, as she shook her head.

"Usagi, are you okay?" Ranma-onna says, as she comforts "her" wife.

"It's…nothing," Usagi replies dismissively.

Ranma-onna looks at Usagi, but decides not to say anything.

"Okay," Ranma-onna says, as she let's Usagi go. "We better turn in…got a big night, you know."

"Um, sure," Usagi says. "Ranma?"

"Yeah?" Ranma-onna looks up from gathering her astronomic equipment.

"Do you…regret marrying me?" Usagi asked.

"Why would you say something like that?" Ranma asked.

"It's just that…we us not being able to…you know…"

"Usagi, I married you knowing that there could be a chance that you and I won't be able to be either lovers or parents. And besides, you heard what Doctor Briefs said. The treatments to thin out your blood will take time to have an affect. Just be patient."

"Okay. Sigh, sometimes I wished that I did use those Dragonballs selfishly."

"But we both know that you wouldn't."

"Yeah…"

Silence.

"Usagi?"

"Yes?"

"Since…we're both girls, and since we're trained in the ways of the Bene Gesserit…"

"But Ranma, you…want to do this? I thought you weren't into that sort of thing."

"Normally, I'm not, but if being male prevents me from sharing an intimate moment with my own wife, then I rather be a girl forever."

Usagi smiles.

"If this is going to be done, we have to find a place away from here."

"We have that nice beach to use. And I do believe we still have our tents to use."

Usagi smiles.

"You're on, mister."

The next day…

Ranma-onna and Usagi return to their cottage, where the see the others getting breakfast. Usagi was carrying two packages, while Ranma-onna was carrying one.

"Hey, guys," Katara says. "Where did you go last night?"

"Ah, we decided to camping," Ranma-onna says, as she laughs it off.

"And we certainly did THAT," Usagi says, with a wink and a nod.

"Aw, man!" Goku says innocently. "I wish I could have gone camping with you guys!"

"Yeah, it was a nice evening," Sokka says.

"Er, right."

"So, what are we going to do while we are here?" Aang asked.

"Well, I will be teaching some martial arts techniques with the girls, while you can train with Ranma."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Ranma-onna says. "And I can teach you how to glide on currents and stuff."

"What about us?" Goku says.

"Yeah, I thought I was suppose to train with you," Sokka says.

"I'll be teaching you today, Sokka, while Goku can learn from Aang."

"Why do I have to sit with the girls?"

"And what's wrong with THAT?" Katara says with gritted teeth.

"Er, nothing."

"Good," Usagi says. "Besides, I think that Suki likes you."

"How could you tell?" Sokka asked.

"A woman knows another woman's heart."

"And then some," Ranma-onna snickered, which resulted in receiving a dirty look from Usagi.

"ANYWAY, you can come, train, and socialize."

"If you say so. But want to make it VERY clear that I do all this under protest."

"Understood," Usagi says. "Oh, and one more thing. Catch!"

Sokka is thrown one of the packages.

"What's this?"

"Well, we stopped by the Suki's place, and were informed that there was a dress code. So WE will be wearing uniforms."

"Okay, I can understand that…"

Thirty minutes later, Sokka was dressed like one of the warriors of Kiyoshi Island.

"How embarrassing," Sokka laments, as he checks himself out in front of the mirror. He then checks his face.

"Usagi, how is my face?"

"You need a bit more eyeliner," Usagi says, as she puts in the final touches.

"GREAT."

"Ah, don't feel that way. In many professions, make-up is a requirement, regardless of gender."

"And you should be honored to be wearing such a uniform," Suki says. "We wear these in honor of Avatar Kiyoshi, who was a formidable warrior."

"A warrior, huh?" Sokka says. "Maybe this isn't so bad."

And then, Ranma-onna, Aang and Goku goes walking by the entrance training hall. They decided to go further inland to train, and would have to go by the training hall to get to a higher elevation.

"Aang, look!" Goku says, as he points to Sokka.

"Ha-ha!" Aang says, as he laughs. "Sokka is wearing GIRLS clothes."

"Yeah, that is kind of funny on him," Ranma-onna interjects.

"RANMA!" Usagi yelled. "You're not helping!"

"Sorry," Ranma-onna says. "Yes, it's hypocritical of me to laugh, but still-"

"Just GO!"

"Heh, yeah…"

**Tbc.**


	9. Chapter 9

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar**

* * *

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other genres belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

* * *

**Part 9**

* * *

A few days later, Zuko and Iroh, thanks to word of mouth by a trader, find themselves closer to capturing the Avatar.

"Prince Zuko, we're coming close to Kiyoshi Island," says Iroh, as he enters his nephew's private quarters. "We should prepare ourselves for when we arrive."

Zuko (bald head, scared over his left eye, and wore a "cue") looks at his uncle.

"Thank you, uncle," Zuko says, as he continued his meditation in front of a series of candles. With a sigh, he turns his attention towards Iroh.

"Uncle, did you feel…strange, when that girl blinded us?"

"No…save for a certain feeling I had upon looking at her," Iroh said with a smile. "Heh."

"Uncle!"

"My apologies, nephew. Though she did have a certain quality that I liked."

"ANYWAY, when that girl did that trick of hers, I realized that I felt…high," Zuko says, as he rose from his seat. "I felt stronger, like whenever the Sun rises in the East."

"All Firebenders do have that benefit, nephew. Come to think of it, I did feel a bit charged. But how will that help us capture the Avatar?"

"I don't know. But the next time that girl pulls that trick of hers, I'll be ready!"

Meanwhile…

"Achoo!" Usagi sneezed, as she supervises the training of the Kiyoshi Warriors, in the ways of the "Weirding Way".

"Are you feeling okay?" Sokka asked.

Usagi focused her gaze on Sokka.

"What? Are you trying to get on my GOOD side?"

"Ha, like you HAVE a good side!"

"For THAT remark, you get to do some push-ups…"

"So?"

"…While using your fingers, so no palms!"

Sokka groaned.

"How many…?"

"One hundred. And don't worry…I'm not going to time you."

"Oh, thank you for THAT small favor."

Suki giggled. So far, the training exercises were doing wonder for her dexterity…

"All right, girls," Usagi says. "Gather around."

The Kiyoshi Warriors do as they are told, while Sokka continues his punishment exercises.

"Okay, I did all that I can to teach you the Weirding Way," Usagi says. "Now, it's time to show me what you got. Suki?"

Suki steps forward in full Kiyoshi Warrior regalia.

"I am ready to perform."

"Good. In old days, very few could survive the training to be of my old order. Luckily for you all, I can pass along a few techniques."

Usagi then steps back.

"Suki?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

Usagi shows a simple, stone pebble in her hand.

"When I count to three, remove the pebble from my hand."

"That's it?"

"That's it. I won't use any counters for this one."

Suki gets into a fighting stance, as she faces her teacher.

"Ready…THREE."

With that, closes her hand into a balled fist.

"Wait, I didn't see her move," says Sokka, as he stopped long enough to see Suki in action.

"That's the point," Usagi says, as she opens her palm, to reveal no pebble in hand.

Suki holds up the pebble.

"Hey, that's just a trick," Sokka says.

"Oh, yeah?" Suki says with a miffed expression.

"Yeah. I bet you couldn't do that to me."

"Then why don't you try it?" Usagi says. "And you get to hold the pebble."

"So what do I get if I win?" Sokka asked.

"You get to not do more push-ups."

"Hey, I'm all for that," Sokka says, as he gets unto he feet. He goes to face Suki. "May I?"

"Sure," Suki says, as she gives the pebble to Sokka.

"May I?"

"Go ahead," Usagi says.

Suki gets into a fighting stance while facing Sokka.

"Thanks," Sokka says, as he holds the pebble in his hand. "Ready…THREE!"

Sokka closes his hand in front of a seemingly motionless Suki.

"Ha!" Sokka yelled, as he opened his hand. "See, you didn't even-"

Replacing the pebble was a studded earring…the same one that was previously on one of Suki's earlobes a moment ago.

"You're looking for this?" Suki says, as she holds up the pebble.

"Drat!"

"Sokk?" Usagi says.

"Yeah, yeah…more push-ups. SHEESH!"

Meanwhile…

"Okay, Ranma," Aang says. "Show me what you got."

"You can do it, Pops!" Goku says enthusiastically, as he sits on a ball made from concentrated air. Basically, it was a duplicate of Aang's "air scooter" technique.

Ranma-onna growled a bit. While she was proud that her adopted son successfully learned Aang's technique so quickly, she did admit that she was jealous of Goku's phenomenal learning curve…if only a little. Worse, Goku's ball was practically solid, as energy seemed to spin within its confines. Still, learning new a martial arts technique spontaneously was her bread-and-butter (so to speak), and it will be that dedication to her "craft" that will win out in the end. And so, after much experimentation with the mudra hand gestures, Ranma-onna was ready to begin…

TING!

Using the mudra hand gestures to access the Air element, as well as re-aligning her own chakra network (a combination of life, mind and spiritual energy) to pull off the effect, Ranma-onna was ready to act.

"Air Style Jutsu: Air Scooter!"

Now, primed, Ranma-onna could now utilize the art of "Air Bending". So, after performing the correct kata, she formed her air ball.

FWOOSH!

"You did it, Pops!" Goku says.

"Looks…good," Aang says sadly.

As Ranma-onna gets on the ball, Goku turns to his friend.

"What's wrong, Aang?"

"Ah, I just miss the other Air Nomads," Aang says, as he looks towards the South. He then turns to look at his new friends. "But…at least I know that what I know won't be lost-"

"Ahhh!" Ranma-onna yelled, as she was spun out of control…and into a tree.

BAM!

"Uhhhh…"

"Pops!"

"At least I hope not…"

Meanwhile…

Katara was practicing her Water Bending skills by the beach, when she smelled the air. The smell was all-too familiar to her.

Slowly, she gets up and scans the horizons…until she sees a ship with a familiar smoke stack.

"They…they're here?" Katara says with wonder. "I better get the others…"

A few minutes later, the town folks have gathered about the main hall.

"What are we going to do, Suki?" the village Elder asked.

"We stay and fight," Suki says.

"No," Ranma-onna says as he looks at the ground.

"Why not?" Suki demanded. "We just learned the techniques-"

"Yes, you just learned the techniques…to face an army. A war of attrition is not the best way to fight."

"Ranma's right," Usagi says. "You're not ready to go head-to-head against the Fire Nation, even if it's one ship. However, the techniques that you have learned will help you be more…discreet in defending your homeland."

"But-"

"Trust me, guys," Sokka says. "They'll do to this village what they did to mine."

"Then, what are we going to do, then?" Suki asked.

"Maybe…we can provide a distraction?" Aang offered. "At the moment, the Fire Nation only wants me. Let's make sure that they ONLY want me."

"If nothing else, here's the plan," Ranma-onna began…

A few minutes later, Zuko and his fellow, armored riders enter a deserted village.

"Captain, I thought this island had people on it," Zuko demanded, as he turns top officer.

"But sir, that's what the trader has told us-"

"NOW!" came a call.

FLASH!

Zuko was blinded by the flash of light, but felt the familiar boost in his body-

"We got you now!" Suki yelled, as she and her team immediately pounced on the men, using the techniques that they learned. Some of Zuko's men were immediately disarmed and knocked over by the Warriors. However, some of Zuko's men were also Fire Benders.

FWOOSH!

At the last minute, Suki dodged the attack. See Zuko, she rushed over to confront him.

"Humph!" Zuko smirks, as he inhaled…before blowing out a huge stream of fire.

"Gah!" Suki yelped, as she dodged the attack.

Some of the village's buildings began to catch on fire, distracting Suki long enough to receive a decisive blow.

WHACK!

"Ah!" Suki yelled, as she was slammed against a beam.

BAM!

"Remember this rule of war," Zuko says, as he steps forward. "There ARE no rules-!"

Zuko punched a fireball towards Suki, when-

THWACK!

"Don't!" Sokka yelled, as he deflected the ball with his fans.

"YOU again," Zuko smirked.

"Yeah, and this time, I'm ready!"

Meanwhile, Usagi was looking at this scene with Ranma-onna.

"Ranma, I don't understand why Suki…didn't beat that guy."

Ranma-onna wondered about that, too. So far, Katara and Goku were keeping the villagers safe, while she, Sokka, Usagi and Aang dealt with the Fire Nation with the Kiyoshi Warriors.

"Ranma, we got to put the fire out," Aang says. "And we have to get Zuko away from here."

"Okay," Ranma-onna says. "You get Zuko's attention. Usagi, deal with the rest of Zuko's men. I'll take care of the fire."

"But, Ranma-"

"Just do it, okay?" Ranma-onna yelled, as she took off to look for Katara.

Usagi looks Aang.

"Well, you first," Usagi says.

"Thanks," Aang says, as he got his gliding stick ready to go…

Meanwhile, Ranma-onna ran to Main Hall where Katara and the others were.

"Ranma, what's going on?" Katara asked. "I'm worried about Sokka and the others."

"Usagi and Aang got it taken care of."

"That's why I'm worried-"

"What do you need to do, Pops?" Goku says.

"I need you and Katara's help. Come to the beach with me."

"Right. NIMBUS!"

As Goku's pet cloud comes down, Ranma-onna turns to the Village Elder.

"Sir, can you sit tight for a moment?" Ranma-onna asked.

"We'll be fine," the elder replied. "Do what you can to save our village."

Ranma-onna leaps into the air, and glides down towards the beach, with Katara and Goku close behind on Nimbus. As soon as they got to the beach…

"Goku, you and I must form our air-scooter…together."

"Okay," Goku nods his head, as he performs the bending technique.

Ranma-onna then turns to Katara.

"Katara, use your bending to force water into the ball."

"But I don't know if-"

"Katara, trust in your abilities. People are counting on you."

Katara nods her head, as she began to force water into the ball of air. Ranma-onna joined in forming the ball, until it was as big as a house.

"Alright, keep your minds clear, as we head back to the village," Ranma-onna says, as she sits on top of the ball filled with water…

"Give it up, Zuko," Aang says, as he got his fans ready for another "dance".

"No, and either way, I win," Zuko says, as he spews yet another burst of fire, this time it was big enough to consume an entire house in one shot.

Aang thought for a moment. The flames were big enough to cause him problems. Even if he deflected the attack, more of the village would be consumed. And then he remembered that training session he had participated in with Ranma-onna and Goku…

"AAAA-HA!" Aang yelled, as he formed the air ball. This time, however, he began to draw in the flames…and contained it.

"What?" Zuko yelled.

Meanwhile, Ranma-onna, Katara and Goku are overhead.

"Alright…now!" Ranma-onna yelled, as she performed a modified version of the breaking point on the construct.

POP!

BLOOSH!

It began to rain heavily onto the village, as the flames began to die out.

"What-?" Zuko says, as he looks up.

With the flame within his sphere doused, and now collecting moisture, Aang directed the ball to slam into Zuko.

FWOOSH!

Zuko sees the ball at the last minute.

BLOOSH!

And is bowled over.

"I got the last one," Usagi says, as she slapped her hands. All of Zuko's men were tied up. She looked about to see that the situation was well in hand.

Later…

"You think that Zuko guy will return to Kiyoshi Island?" Usagi says, as she and the rest of the gang continue on their journey. They were on Appa's back heading north.

"I don't think so," Ranma says, as he relaxed…and was glad to be back in male form. "We agreed to not embarrass him further by him promising to leave Kiyoshi Island alone. Besides, I think he prefers to go after Aang, seeing how he's a more important threat-"

"Look at me, Katara!" Aang says, as he uses his air balls to juggle an enclosed Momo, Goku and Sokka.

"Ah, this fun!" Goku yells in glee.

"Speak for yourself," Sokka says.

"Wow, Aang," Katara says. "That's pretty good."

Suddenly, Aang stops.

"You think?" Aang replied.

"Ahh-!" Sokka says, as he was about to fall off Appa in mid-flight.

"I got you-!" Usagi says, as she was about to reach for Sokka.

GRAB!

Sokka sighed.

"Thanks," Sokka says.

"You're welcome."

"I'm surprised that Suki turned you down," Ranma says, as he takes a drink of water. "About coming with us."

"Well, she and the other warriors will be assisting the Earth Kingdom's war against the Fire Nation," Sokka says. "I understand and all, but I'll miss her."

"Yeah…"

"Besides, don't look at it as a good-bye, but a 'see you later'," Usagi says.

"You think I'll see her again, Usagi?" Sokka asked.

"You better…because you STILL need to snatch that pebble from my hand you know."

"Huh?"

"Plus…I kind of made a bet that you would."

"…"

**Next time: "Meet King Bumi!" and "Fathers and Sons"**


	10. Chapter 10

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

* * *

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other genres belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

* * *

**Part 10**

* * *

"So, what's the next on out itinerary?" Usagi asked, as she peered over Sokka's shoulder.

"Do you mind?" Sokka says, as he pulls the map away.

"What? You're still mad at me."

"Oh, let me see: you drop me from one-hundred feet, and, taking your sweet time, you didn't get to me until the last minute. Thank you for traumatizing me, 'sensei'."

"Hey, that's how I learned to fly."

"Well, I didn't, okay?"

"But you did float at least," Goku says, as he performed a handstand.

"Humph!"

"Honestly," Katara says. "As annoying as Sokka is, he IS my only brother."

"Yeah, next time, WE should do the training together…okay?" Ranma says.

"Fine," Usagi says, as she folds her arms. "Humph!"

"ANYWAY, we should be close to the city of-" Sokka says.

"Omashu," Aang says, as he points to a huge, mound-like castle.

"Is this place the Earth Kingdom?" Ranma asked.

"Actually, no," Aang says. "I don't know how it is now, but when I was last here, there were hundreds of smaller kingdoms."

"Huh."

"Maybe you can learn some 'earth-bending', Aang," Goku says.

"Maybe…"  
When Appa lands, the gang steps up to the front gate of Omashu…if there was a frontgate.

"Um, how do we get in?" Goku asked, as he scratches his head.

"They're earth-benders, silly," Katara says.

As if on cue, the gang sees an altercation between the guards and a cabbage dealer.

"What's this?" says the lead guard, as he picks up a cabbage.

"Er, just cabbage, sir," says the dealer.

"Humph! We don't WANT your cabbage!" says the guard, as he uses his "earth-bending" skills to jut out a rock from within the ground, and knock the cart high and over the terrace.

"Now beat it!"

"Ohhhh," the man laments.

"Hey, they can't do that!" Goku yells. With that, he immediately runs down the hill.

"Goku, wait!" Usagi says.

"Come on, let's go," Aang says.

"Well, so much for a break," Ranma says.

"You don't expect to not do anything about it, right?" Katara asked.

"No. In fact, had Goku not say anything, I would have."

"Yeah, sure," smirk Sokka.

BOP!

"Ow!" Sokka yelled, as he rubbed his head.

"Show your teacher some respect," Ranma says. "Come, let's go."

Sokka merely grumbles, only to receive a huge tongue lick from Appa.

SLURP!

Sokka sighs. He was NOT having a good day.

With the guards patting themselves on the back, the failed to see a young teen jumping down—from on top of Nimbus—in front of them.

THUMP!

"Huh?" says the lead guard.

"Hey, you shouldn't be doing that!" Goku yelled. "You ought to compensate for what you have done!"

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," says the cabbage dealer, with a nervous grin. He didn't want to get barred from Omashu entirely…

"Who are YOU to tell the guards of the kingdom of Omashu what to do?" the guard says. "Beat it!"

Goku brought his staff to bear.

"You WILL compensate."

"I don't THINK so!" the guard says, as he produces a nice size border from within the Earth, before hovering it over Goku-

"Constables, I must apologize for my…little brother's behavior," Usagi says, who decided to not explain the fact that a teenaged-looking girl could have adopted Goku. "But you should compensate."

"Great another one-"

Suddenly, the guard receives a sense of dread from Usagi. At first, the guard sees her eyes seemingly flicker from blue to silvery-green. And for a moment, he could have sworn that he had seen some sort of monster behind Usagi's façade. And it was this monster that would give the guard nightmares for some time to come…

"Er, maybe I was a bit harsh," says the guard, as he laughs a bit. "Yeah, I'll do it."

"Huh?" the other guards say in surprise.

"Yes, that would be very nice," Usagi says with a smile.

"Any problems?" Katara asks.

"Naw, Ma made these guys pay for that man's cart," Goku says.

"And I appreciate that, miss," the cabbage dealer says. "Thanks!"

Usagi smiles.

"You're welcome."

"So, we're going in or what?" Ranma asked.

"Um, sure," Aang says, as he fed Momo (who was on his shoulder). He then turns to the guards. "Can we enter the city?"

The lead guard was about to say "no", when he remembered the feeling he felt from Usagi.

"Well, I'm sure. We're kind of weary of strangers these days, with the Fire Nation and all. But…I'll give you all a day pass."

"We really appreciate that," Sokka says, as he comes up from behind.

Katara looks at her older brother.

"Sokka, how come you're always wet?" Katara asked.

"Just…don't, will ya?" Sokka says. "I just want to get inside and dry off."

Ranma whistles to the group to stop.

"What is it, Ranma?" Usagi asked.

"Okay, you and I are going to get some supplies and junk. The rest of you…stay out of trouble."

"Wait, do you have money?" Sokka asked.

"I took some money from the hidden treasury before leaving the Southern Air Temple," Aang says. "I figured we could use it, now that I'm…alone."

Silence.

"YOU HAD MONEY ALL THIS TIME?" Sokka says, as he violently shook Aang.

"Sokka, stop it," Katara says. "I'm sure that Aang has his reasons for not saying anything."

"Um, I just know that Ranma and Usagi could handle money better, that's all," Aang says.

"So…where's ours?" Sokka says, as he rubs his hands greedily.

"Fine," Ranma says, as he gives each person a gold coin.

"What this?" Sokka yelled.

"Your allowance. We're not here to enjoy ourselves."

"Aw!"

Just then, Momo swipes Sokka's coin.

"Hey! Come back here-!"

"So while Ranma and I get things together, you four enjoy yourselves…but, please, stay out of trouble," Usagi says.

"Yes, Ma!" Goku says.

"It would be nice to see the sights," Katara says-

"Come back here with that coin!" Sokka yelled, as he continues to chase a flying Momo, while being completely ignored by the others.

"Now, you four behave yourselves," Ranma says.

"We will," Aang says, as he waves goodbye, as Ranma and Usagi walks off.

"Ranma, should we give Sokka another coin?" Usagi asks.

"Naw," Ranma says. "Trying to get his coin back will be good training for him."

After Ranma leaves, a tired Sokka and Momo returns to the group.

"So," Sokka says in a huff. "So, what's next?"

"Guys, I've got to show you something that is SO neat," Aang says. "Come."

"What is it, Aang?" Goku asks, as he and the others walk around the pavilion.

"My old friend 'Bumi' showed me how to use the delivery system as a ride."

"Hey, that's cool!"

"Aang, I hope that you are not implying that we should-" Katara began.

"Oh, lighten up, Katara," Sokka says. "Can't we have some funs some of the time?"

"Maybe you're right."

"Great!" Aang says. "You won't forget it…"

A short while later, Aang, Goku, Katara and Sokka are standing in front of the ruler of Omashu…for joyriding in the Omashu delivery system.

"Wow, that was fun, Aang," Goku says.

"Goku, you're NOT helping," Sokka says.

"Sire, we're waiting for their other friends to arrive," the lead guardsman says.

"Oh, really?" says the old king. "And pray tell…who allowed these people into Omashu…on a free pass?"

"Er…"

And then-

BAM!

Ranma and Usagi enter the throne room, carrying a dozen of guards between the two of them.

"Ma!" Goku yelled.

"I believe these are yours?" Ranma says, as he dumps the unconscious bodies unceremoniously unto the floor.

CLUMP!

"Sire, stay back!" the guardsmen say.

"Stay your hand," the king says. "If they wanted to harm me, then they would not have merely put your men into a state of unconsciousness."

Ranma looks at the others, and then at the king.

"Sir, I apologize for any inconvenience that you might have had…with our friends," Ranma says, as he bows his head slightly. He could tell that this world's culture was very similar to that of Asia's on Earth…or even on Chikyuu.

"And we apologize for doing this to your men…but they were acting like jerks."

The king leans over…before laughing.

"HOHOHO!" the king laughed. "You are indeed an interesting bunch. I invite you to have dinner with me…ALL of you."

"Um, sure."

"Thank you for the invitation, sir," Usagi says.

"You are quite welcome," the king says, as he eyes Aang. "You are welcome indeed."

**Tbc.**


	11. Chapter 11

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

* * *

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST", "A: TLA" and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

* * *

**Part 11**

* * *

"…And that is how we escaped from the sea serpent," Sokka says proudly, between munches of food.

"Um, I thought I heard you screaming, 'Oh my god! I'm too young to die', Sokka?" Goku asked innocently.

"…"

"No, he said, 'Run away!'," Aang offered.

"You guys are NOT helping, you know!"

Katara merely giggled at her older brother's lamentations.

"I see," says the king of Omashu. "Well, that is quite interesting."

"For me, this place is, sir," Ranma says. "And this is the result of 'earth-bending'?"

"Of course, it is," says the king with a slight huff. "Where were you born? Another planet?"

"Heh, well-"

"We've never met earth-benders before, since we're from a place that, well, never had bending," Usagi says.

"Oh. Well, I suppose that's understandable, I suppose…"

The king then turns to Aang.

"So, I didn't expect to see any air-benders in this day and age, Aang."

"Well…I am the last one," Aang says sadly.

"Maybe not, Aang," Ranma says with a smile, as he stretched his arms.

"What do you mean, young man?"

"Well, even though Goku, Usagi and I were not born with the gift of air-bending as a 'natural ability', I've been working on a way for us to learn anyway."

"So…does this apply to any bending, and could anybody learn?"

"I'm not sure, but thanks to Aang and Katara's help, I don't see why not. It'll take time, though."

"Fascinating," the king says. "I can imagine a day when nations, kingdoms, tribes and nomads are no longer bound by a single element. To learn any bending would definitely tip the balance of power in this world."

"Well, in that case, it would be a good thing," Sokka says.

"Oh?"

"With everyone else knowing fire bending, the Fire Nation's effectiveness could be blunted."

"But that also mean that who we are as distinct peoples could be lost, Sokka," Katara says. "I don't loose our heritage in the process."

"You all have made great points," the king says, as he gets up from his seat, which caused the guest to rise from their own seats as well. "I'll bid you good night."

"Thank you, sir," Aang says with a bow. "We appreciate your hospitality."

"The pleasure was mine. You all get plenty of sleep…you'll need it."

As the king leaves, escorted by his guards, the kids sit right back down.

"That is one interesting man," Sokka says.

"What do you think the king meant by his remark, Pops?" Goku says.

"Ah, don't worry about it, kiddo," Ranma says. "For all we know, he'll want us to demonstrate what we know in the bending arts or something…"

The next day…

"Ranma, wake up!" Usagi says urgently, as she shook her husband awake.

"Ah, come on, Akane…not now," Ranma says groggily. "I don't want to die for your bad cooking-"

"RANMA!"

"What, what is it?" Ranma says, as he gets up.

"The kids are missing!"

"Huh," Ranma says. He looked around the room. With the ability to manipulate the earth like one manipulates clay, it was not surprising that Omashu was built with doors.

"What are we going to do, Ranma?"

Ranma gets up. He then stretches his limbs…

"Ranma?"

"Do what we usually do in a situation like this," Ranma says, as he walks to a wall. "Cause trouble. SHATTER POINT!"

BOOM!

With a 'door' now present, Ranma and Usagi could see the king's "Captain of the Guard".

"I don't need to ask you the burning question in my mind, no?" Ranma says, as he cracked his knuckles.

"All of your questions will be resolved, if you follow me," the Captain says, as he motions Ranma and Usagi to follow him.

"Damn, right!"

"I wonder what is going on?" Usagi wondered.

A short walk later…

"Hey, Pops!" Goku says, as he tried to wave.

"Goku?" Ranma says.

There, standing in the middle of the great hall, were the king, his henchmen, Aang…and the rest of the kids, who were covered in some sort of multi-colored crystal-like 'jacket'. This set up made sure that they could walk around, but could not escape.

"Goku!" Usagi says, as she goes over to her adopted son. "Are you okay?"

"Gee, thanks for being concerned about Katara and I," Sokka says sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry. Katara, are you okay?"

"HEY!"

"We're fine, I guess," Katara says.

"It's my fault," Aang says. "I wanted to explore this place, and the others came with me…"

"Got it," Ranma says, as he turns to face the king. "I think there is a misunderstanding here. I'm willing to make amends, if that is possible."

"Yes, yes there is. However, young Aang has already agreed to make amends."

"And that is…?"

"The king wanted me to demonstrate my skills as an air-bender," Aang says.

"CORRECT," the king declares. "I have authorized THREE tests for young Aang to complete. However…since you two are here, I propose a slight modification."

"What…kind of modification?" Ranma asked.

A short time later, everyone was in a cavern of some kind. A single, waterfall poured its contents into the cavern. No doubt, this cavern served as some sort of water storage area.

"Oh, joy," says Ranma with arms folded. "I'm impressed."

"So, how are we going to do this test of skills?" Aang asked.

"Young Aang, you will choose three people to represent you fro each test. However, only ONE person may take that test, and, once the test has been concluded, that person may not be used for another test."

"And the purpose is…?" Aang asked.

"You are the Avatar, and you will one day have to inspire and lead others…if there is suppose to be balance in this world."

The king turns towards the Saotomes.

"No doubt that you inspire these people to learn your ways. Now, they have to prove them worthy of your trust."

"Um, there are only two of us," Usagi says.

"You know, you're right," the king says, as he glances over at Usagi's direction. "So, Aang…who is going to be the third person?"

Aang swallows, as he glances over at his three young friends…

"Ooh! Pick me!" Sokka yells.

"Sokka, please don't," Katara says.

"Aw, man…!"

"I choose…Goku!" Aang says.

"Alright!" Goku says, as he casually broke out of his confinement.

KRISH!

"You mean to tell me that you could have gotten free already?" Sokka yelled.

"Well…I didn't want to be left out from all the fun, and all…"

"…"

"Good," the king says. "Now, the test…shall begin."

**Tbc.**


	12. Chapter 12

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

* * *

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

* * *

**Part 12**

* * *

"Good," the king says. "Now, the test…shall begin."

Aang nods his head. He looks at Ranma, Usagi and Goku, before returning his full attention back towards the king.

"Do I have to choose a person before or after you give me the test?" Aang asked.

The King merely grins.

"It's all up to you, young friend."

"Oh. Okay…then I choose Usagi."

"ME?" Usagi says.

"Sure why not?"

"Okay."

"Good," the King says. He then turns towards the waterfall that was pouring into the middle of the cavern.

"I need to get a key to a lock box."

"Okay…"

"The key is IN the waterfall. Can you get it for me?"

"What?" Ranma and Sokka yelled.

"Yes, I want the lovely Usagi to get that key. If she can, then the first test is passed."

"The let me do it-"

"Sorry, but once Aang has chosen, the test must commence. That's why it is important for Aang to make his choices wisely."

"But-"

Ranma then felt a hand on his right shoulder. He turns towards Usagi.

"Ranma, I can do this," Usagi says with reassurance. "Please have faith in me."

Ranma looks into his wife's eyes.

"Alright, but be careful."

"Thanks," Usagi says.

"Oh, great…we're DOOM!" Sokka laments.

"Be quiet, Sokka," Katara says. "Aang wouldn't have chosen Usagi if he didn't know her capabilities."

"Actually, I just picked at random," Aang says.

"See?" Sokka says.

"Be quiet."

"You may begin at any time," the King says.

"Well, here I go," Usagi says, as she begins rock back and forth. "Okay…alright…here we go-"

"WOULD YOU GET ON WITH IT?" Sokka yelled.

BONK!

"Ow!"

"Show so manners," Ranma says with a smirk. "She's trying, you know?"

Ranma turns to his wife.

"Just do your best, babe," Ranma says with a smile.

Usagi smiles back.

"Thanks," Usagi says, as she suddenly leaps off the balcony, and began to hop from stalactite to stalactite. When she got to the stone formation closest to the waterfall, Usagi locked her thighs at the point towards the top.

"How come Usagi isn't using her power of flight?" Katara asked.

"Because the test has to be based upon resourcefulness," Aang says, as he turns towards the King. "Right?"

"Exactly…though I really didn't know that your friend could fly," the King says.

"And it would be fun to see Ma do her thing," Goku says. He then leans over.

"You can do it, Ma!"

Usagi looks at her adopted son.

'I got to prove myself,' Usagi thought to herself. She looks around to see a stalactite closest to her. She leans back, and braces herself by holding on to the second structure.

"Uhh!" Usagi grunted, as she uses her thighs to snap the top part of the stalactite that her legs were wrapped around.

SNAP!

Predictably, Usagi began to fall. However, as she fell, Usagi curled up, forcing herself to tilt forward as she fell. She then used both hands to propel her upward, even as she continued to maintain her hold on the stone piece. As she leaped upwards, Usagi rolled until she manages to propel the stone object up and away from her. Then she tumbled downwards until she manages to land on the sheared stalactite that Usagi had modified with her thighs.

THUMP!

'There,' Usagi thought to herself, as she catches her piece of long, pointy stone. The piece was thick and long enough to provide cover…

"Here goes!" Usagi yells, as she tosses the piece towards the key ring.

FWOOSH!

At the same time, Usagi leaped after it. However, she moved slightly faster, so as to nearly over take the object. The result was that as the waterfall was deflected by the stone piece, thus shielding Usagi from the water. She also twirled her body like a spinning torpedo, so that her momentum would still be carried through. As soon as the stone piece began to deflect the pouring water, Usagi grabbed the key before the stone shifted it out of reach.

'Yoink," Usagi says, as she grabs the suspended key.

"She did it!" Goku yells.

"See?" Katara says. "She did it."

"She did it?" Sokka asked.

"Yep, she did it," Ranma says with pride.

Usagi sailed towards the far wall, changed her descent pattern with a twist and roll, bounced off the cavern wall, and sailed back to her party on the balcony.

"Ta-da!" Usagi says, as she bows. "Thank you, and good night!"

"Knock it off, woman," Ranma says with a smile. "You did good, but we have two more challenges to go through."

"Indeed," the King says. "Follow me…"

Soon all arrive at the edge of some open pit.

"This is your NEXT test," the King says.

"So, what is the next test?" Aang asked.

"All you have to do is feed my pet 'Fluffy'."

"'Fluffy'?" Katara says.

"What kind of name IS that?" Ranma says.

"Well, I think it's a cute name," Usagi says.

"YOU would."

"So, who do you choose to take your test, young Aang?"

Aang turns to look at Ranma and his buddy Goku, the only ones left who could take the test…

"I choose…Goku," Aang says.

Ranma sighs. Yes, Goku can take care of himself, but he still doesn't want him to be in harms way…

"Yay!" Goku says.

"Good," the King says, as he takes out a bell. "Just go down, and use it."

"Okay," Goku says, as he accepts the bell.

"Well, that seems routine," Katara says.

"Well, think we have more pressing matters," Sokka says, as the crystal that encased both himself and his sister Katara. "And the easier the King's tests…the better."

Usagi turns to Ranma.

"You think Goku is going to be alright?" Usagi asked.

"I think so," Ranma says, as he sees Goku climbing down the pit. "I mean, what could possibly go wrong…?"

TING!

Goku hops down and scans the area. There were rocks and shrubs and the like.

"Hmmm," Goku says, as he rings his bell.

TING!

Goku scans the area, and spots a little rabbit.

"Ah, you must be 'Fluffy'," Goku says, as he squats. However-

THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

Goku turns around to see something huge, hairy, white and looked like a cross between a gorilla and a rabbit.

"Ah!" Goku yells.

The others see what was going on below.

"Ranma-!" Usagi cried out.

Ranma squints his eyes, and says nothing.

Goku takes out his extendable staff, and leaps over the creature. He then lands on top of him.

"Ha-HA!" Goku yells, as he cries for joy. "This is fun!"

The creature manages to knock Goku off however. He rolls and stands in front of the creature…

SLURP!

"Ew!" Goku says, as the creature licked Goku's face.

"He must be 'Fluffy'," Aang points out.

"And you know this because…?" Sokka asks.

"Because only a weirdo like the King would have THAT for a pet named 'Fluffy'," Ranma points out.

"Ranma…?" Usagi asked.

Ranma turns to his wife.

"I didn't do anything because I didn't sense any bad vibes from 'Fluffy', and neither did Goku."

"Yay!" Goku says, as Fluffy carries Goku to the King.

"This is just great," Sokka smirked "Goku made a friend. Yah for US."

"Alright," Ranma says to the King, who was now rubbing Fluffy's belly. "I'm ready for MY turn."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, so let's get this over with."

Ten minutes later, Ranma and the crew were with King Bumi and his guard in some sort of underground arena. The Katara and Sokka's respective crystal prisons were now covering their entire bodies. Usagi was prepared to make a dash escape by shattering these coffin-like structures. However, Ranma insisted in seeing this thing through to the end.

"Well, Ranma my boy," Bumi says. "Who do you wish to challenge for the final test?"

Ranma scans the men. They looked tough, and they looked like warriors, but if his senses told him about the king were true…

"You," Ranma says, as he points at the king.

"And why is that, young man?" the king asked demurely.

"In my life time, I ran into enough old freaks to tell me not to underestimate them."

"Why…that's a good idea," the king says, as he suddenly straightens his back, and removes his robes.

"Whoa," Sokka says.

"Tell me about it," Katara interjects.

"He looks a lot healthier," Aang says.

"Wow," Goku says. "He's just like Master Roshi."

"I hope not," Usagi says. "I don't want to deal with any more pervs outside of Chikyuu."

"Get ready to rock…and roll!" the King says, as he suddenly stomps the ground.

THOOM!

The kinetic force sends Ranma harmlessly into the middle of the arena.

"Heh," Ranma says, as he stands from a crouch. "You got to do better than THAT, old man."

"Why, of course, young man," the king says. "And by the way, I'm the most powerful Earthbender in this land. Hootcha!"

THOOM!

The king stomps the ground, forcing large size boulder into the air for him to "fist".

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Ranma nimbly dodges the first volley, but using the Breaking Point to shatter the next volley.

"Breaking Point!"

BOOM! BOOM-!

"Interesting skill," the king says. "But it is NOT Earthbending."

The king stomps the ground, forcing another boulder upwards. However, instead of launching at Ranma with another volley, the king leaps and uses both feet to kick the boulders towards the ceiling, causing rock to rain down on Ranma.

Ranma forces himself back a bit, before moving in to 'tag' the king. However, as the king performs some sort of ground-based kata, jagged earth bursts upward, causing Ranma to use evasive measures.

"You'll have to be a bit more creative than that," the king says.

"Oh, yeah?" Ranma yells, I'll show you creative!"

From his experience with Aang, he knew that elemental benders had to concentrate in order to perform their technique. So, why not divide that concentration?

Ranma quickly cups his hand to form an airball. However, instead of using it to create an air scooter, Ranma decided to create multiple airballs.

THIP! THIP! THIP! THIP-!

However, instead of throwing them at the king, he began to use the walls, the floor and the ceiling to ricochet his attacks at angles. Thus, with these air balls coming from multiple sides, the king could not focus on him.

"Nice try, but while I deal with your attack, you can deal with this," the king says, as he punches into the ground.

THOOM!

Ranma leaps over the ruptured ground, and continues towards the king.

"Ha!" the king yells, as he stomps the ground.

Suddenly, the ground turns into quick sand, slowing his progress a bit.

The king raises a shield to defend himself with one hand, while using another hand to raise a huge boulder. Soon, it was about to land on top of Ranma's head-

"Breaking Point!"

BOOM!

"Time to pull all the stops," Ranma says to himself. Unlike Aang, Ranma learned that he could create a tornado effect without the need to move.

"Dragon Rising Ascension!"

The attack picks up the dirt and dust, allowing Ranma to free himself. He leaps into the eye of the tornado, and allows it sling shot him at the king like a torpedo.

"Ha!" the king says, as removes the stone balcony, and tosses it at Ranma.

"Damn," Ranma says, as he forms a huge air ball to cushion his impact.

BOING!

This forces the king's attack back at the king.

"Oh, dear," the king says, as he phases through the rock.

At the same time, Ranma bounces off his counter-attack, and lands in front of the king.

"Got you," Ranma says, as he pulls back his fist while in a fight stance. "At this range, I can't miss."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing," the king says.

Ranma squints his eye, as dust fell on his face. He looks up to see that the king had a boulder hanging over his head.

"Heh," Ranma says. "Good one."

"I know," the king says, as he tosses the boulder. "Aang did well to pick his friends…"

Later…

"So, I can't believe that the king turned out to be Aang's old friend 'Bumi'," Sokka says, as he leans on a railing of Omashu's upper terraces.

"Well, Aang did say that Bumi was…unconventional," Katara says.

"I guess so. Say, where are the others?"

"Well…"

Just then, a delivery cart carrying three people slid past them.

"Yeah!" Goku yelled, as he angled the cart for maximum speed.

"HA!" King Bumi yells in glee. "I had forgotten what this was like!"

Using the mail delivery system, Bumi and Aang were having fun in their person super-slide.

"Told you," Aang says.

And then-

"Weeee!" Usagi says, as she and Ranma was sliding past the others.

"Hey, no fair, Pa!" Goku yelled.

"Hey, you snooze you loose," Ranma says. "I am a speed freak you know…"

As Katara and Sokka watches these five slide past them…

"Sometimes, I wonder if WHO is the mature one out of all of us, Katara."

"I know what you mean, Sokka…I know what you mean…"

**Tbc.**


	13. Chapter 13

**SMST: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

* * *

**Disclaimer: "SM", "R1/2", "ST" and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

* * *

**Part 13**

* * *

After a day's travel, the Avatar Aang and his friends decides to camp for a quick minute. This allowed Ranma a chance to examine the moves that King Bumi—a powerful "earth-bender"…and Aang's "kooky" friend—used during his fight.

Or so it seems…

"Hey guys!" Sokka says, as he and Goku comes back from fishing at a nearby river. "We got food-!"

"Shhhh!" Katara says, as she places a finger on her lips. "Ranma is trying to do earth-bending."

"How long has Pops been at it?" Goku says, as he strings up his catch on a nearby tree branch.

"Ranma been trying to do some bending for an hour now," Usagi says.

"I've been trying to tell him that you can't do more than one type of bending," Aang says. "Only the Avatar can."

"Well, just you wait," says Ranma, as he began to form mudra hand gestures.

"You think you can do, Pops?" Goku says.

"All I know is that I can use the jutsu methodology to 'prime' the effect," Ranma says.

"And that would be…ninjutsu?" Usagi asks.

"Yep. From what my old friend Ukyo once told me, ninjutsu is a spiritual-based effect, genjutsu is mental-based effect, and taijutsu is a physical-based effect. All I need to do is focus on what I want to do, thanks to the mudra hand gestures as the focus, and I should be good to go."

"Why even bother to learn bending at all, Ranma?" Usagi says. "I mean, you and I know 'Elemental Magic'."

"You guys know magic?" Sokka says.

"Sure, to varying degrees."

"Then why do I have to go out looking for food, then? Can't you wish for…something for us to EAT?"

"Reason why I'm trying to learn bending is the same reason why we don't use elemental magic," Ranma says.

"And that is…?"

"For some reason, elemental magic is virtually non-existent. Most likely, the energy levels in this world is too low for Usagi and I to have access."

"Then…how are you able to use 'airbending'?"

"From what I can see, bending uses 'chakra', which is the synthesis of physical, mental and spiritual energy. When I was coming up in the world, I was only familiar with notions of physical and some notions of spiritual energy. However, in my experience, it all comes down to how to access and be one with this synthesized energy."

Ranma pauses for a moment.

"It's hard to believe that the world can always surprise you, if you are willing to push the envelope or something."

"So, you have any success, Pops?" Goku asked.

"Well…let's find out," Ranma says, as he formed a few mudra hand gestures.

WHOOM!

Ranma then duplicated some of the kata forms that he had seen King Bumi had performed.

"Ah-HA!" Ranma says, as he stomped the ground.

A large, stone boulder juts out of the ground, though it did so right underneath Ranma.

THOOM!

"Ulp!" Ranma says, as he sails away…

"Ranma!" Usagi yells, as she runs after her husband.

"Pops!" Goku yells, as he ran after his foster mother.

"That was…something," Katara says.

"Told him," Aang says, as he pets Momo the Flying Lemur.

"So, who wants fish?" Sokka says, as he turns to his companions.

"Let's go to town and purchase some ingredients and stuff from town," Katara says, as she gets up from her rock…

Later…

"Ranma, Ranma!" Aang says, as he and Sokka slow down.

Ranma, Usagi and Goku all look up to from whatever they were doing.

"Whoa, slow down," Ranma says.

"Where were you guys?" Usagi says.

"And where is Katara, Aang?" Goku asked.

"Well, we were going to town to get some stuff for dinner, when we ran into a boy," Aang says.

"Apparently, Katara likes him or something," Sokka says.

"No, she doesn't," Aang protested. "She…she just wanted to help him, that's all."

"Yeah, right-"

"Guys, keep focused," says Ranma.

"So, what happened next?" Usagi says.

"Well, it turned out that this boy—named Haru—is an earth-bender," Aang says.

"Oh, like King Bumi?" Goku asked.

"Like Bumi."

"He comes a town that is controlled by the Fire Nation, and they have outlawed earth-bending," Sokka says.

"Guys, they take earth-benders from their homes!" Aang says. "They took Haru away when the Fire Benders found out about him."

"So how is Katara involved?" Usagi asks.

"She…she wanted to find Haru, so we…kind of pretended that she was an earth-bender, too."

"Let me guess: she's captured, right?" Ranma asks.

"Yes."

"Pops, are we going to go after Katara?" Goku asked.

"Of course we are."

"Then if we're going to go after her, we need to hurry," Sokka says. "She's supposed to be taken away by ship."

"Not a problem," Ranma says, as he turns towards Usagi. "Usagi?"

"We can track Katara with the help of a spell I know," Usagi says, as she goes over to Katara's pack.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Sokka says.

"I will perform a spell known as 'Object Read'," Usagi says, as she placed Katara's blue parka on her lap. "I'll be able to zero on her location."

"Then we do not have any time to lose," Aang says, as he turns to Appa, who was lounging about. "Appa, you're ready to go, boy?"

"RRROORRRLLL!" says the flying bison.

"I wish I wasn't standing so close to Appa like that," Sokka says, as he shook the moisture from his hair…

Later that afternoon, Aang and the gang fly towards the water and out into the sea. While flying low, Usagi casts an invisible field around everyone.

"Do…you think Katara will be okay?" Aang asked. "I wished that she…wasn't so determine to find Haru…"

Goku placed a hand on his friend.

"I believe she is, Aang," Goku says. "We'll make sure of that."

"Okay, we're almost there," says Ranma, as he sees what appeared to be an ocean platform. From what he understood about elemental bending, it was possible to place a bender in a situation where he or she is removed from his or her "element". Putting earth-benders in the middle of a body of water would do the trick.

Ranma turns his attention to the others.

"Aang, Sokka and Goku- find Katara, and assess her condition," Ranma says. "Usagi and I are going to explore the platform."

"How come?" Sokka asked.

"I'm curious about the Fire Nation, and since we might meet more on our journey, I rather know what we're up against."

"Oh, that's easy," Sokka says. "Fire. Nation. Fire Nation."

"Cute."

And with that, the gang makes their move to sneak aboard the sea platform…

The Fire Nation was a very regimented society, with their military being more so.

As the guards around the operations area were rotating their position in a sweep, they failed to see the two people quietly sneak up on them.

"URK!" says one of the guards.

"Mmmph!" says another one.

The first guard tried to counter the move in a classic judo throw, but Ranma prevents that with a well-placed palm to the small of the back. This prevents the guard from forming a fulcrum. And then-

THOK-THOK!

"Uhhhhh…"

Ranma pulls the now unconscious guard down the corridor a bit, and tosses him into a storage closet. He then looks towards his wife.

"Come on!" Ranma yells quietly.

"Shhhh," Usagi says to the second guard, as he begins to lose consciousness, as she cuts off the blood flow to his brain with her free hand. "It will be over real soon."

With the second guard out, Usagi pulls him into the closet.

"What took you so long?" Ranma says, as he closes the closet door behind. "Now, we can go to the warden's office and do some intelligence work."

"Aw," Usagi says sarcastically. "You know how to treat a girl to a good time…"

For an hour, Usagi and Ranma comb through the documents in the warden's office.

"Take a look at this," Usagi says, as she shows the map of the Fire Nation supply routes. "According to this, there are several Fire Nation outposts through much of the lower half of the continent."

Ranma takes a look at the map.

"Hmmm…"

"We're going to be seeing more of these guys, due to this…Ba Sing Se place being the main target of their incursions."

"We'll have to stick to the low lands then and costal region, where the presence of Fire Nation troops are the least numerous."

"And what about…our ship then, Ranma?"

"Unfortunately, much of the heavy industry—if that—is in Fire Nation territory," Ranma says, as he points to a collection of islands.

"Hmmm…kind of reminds me of Japan-"

CHUNK!

Usagi and Ranma turn to see the door to the office open…

"Ahhh," says the warden (long, gray hair, long goatee and short) as he enters his office. "Those silly earth-benders still think they have hope-"

The warden suddenly turns around to see…nothing.

"Humph," the warden says, as he shook his head. "My nerves must be acting up…"

Using the Umasenken Arts, Ranma and Usagi make their escape. Eventually, they see Aang and the gang with Appa. All of them were safely hidden away underneath the platform.

"Hey!" Goku says excitedly.

Ranma gives Goku the sign to be quiet.

"Did you find what you are looking for?" Aang says.

"Yes," Usagi says. "Wait, where's Katara?"

"She had this silly notion that she should stay and help Haru and his Dad bust out of here," Sokka says. "So she's staying with the rest of the prisoners. Can you believe that?"

"Well, we're here aren't we?" Ranma says with a wiry smile.

"Oh, no," Sokka complained. "Can't we just leave quietly?"

"No we can't, Sokka," Aang says. He then looks to Ranma.

"There's coal here that we can use to help the earth-benders free themselves."

"Oh?" says Ranma, as he raises an eyebrow…

The next day…

"…And so, little girl, you should be punished," says the warden, as he prepared to burn Katara. Aang and Ranma had used air-bending to force tons of coal—unprocessed "earth"—into the holding pen for Haru and his father Tyro to use. So broken were the prisoners that they were hesitant in their actions. Mockingly, the warden was going to make an example of Katara when-

WHACK!

All eyes looked up to see the warden fall down, just as Ranma popped him on the back of the head.

"Oh, shut up," Ranma says. He then turns to the earth-benders.

"Katara told me that you earth-benders had pride. Now, PROVE it."

Haru turns to his father.

"He right, Father," Haru says. "We have to do something!"

"I see," Tyro says. He then turns to his fellow earth-benders.

"Let's take back…our freedom!" Tyro yells, just as more fire-benders swarm the area.

Ranma smiles, as he suddenly turns around to form an airball to bowl-down three fire-benders.

FWOOM!

"Hoot-cha!" Goku yells, as he used his elongation staff to knock other fire-benders down.

Katara tapped into the seas to hose away her foes.

Haru and Tyro, in unison, lift the coal, and send them towards into more Fire Nation soldiers.

Meanwhile, Usagi and Sokka were relaxing.

"Shouldn't we help or something?" Sokka asks.

"We could, but that would be a bit 'overkill'," Usagi says.

"I GUESS so…"

Later…

"Well, that was nice of Haru's mom to pack us a lunch bag," Usagi says, as Appa flies further north along the coast."

"I guess so," Katara says, as she fidgets.

"Katara, what's wrong?" Aang asks.

"I lost my mother's necklace."

"We could turn back," Ranma offered.

"No, it's okay. The main thing is that we get more training."

Ranma nods his head, as he ponders how he can perfect his understanding of elemental bending...

**Tbc.**


	14. Chapter 14

**SMST P7A: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

**

* * *

****Disclaimer: SM, R1/2, ST and other genres belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

**Special note: For this week, I will restrict most of my work to 1000+ words per story, in an effort to "catch up". C&C are welcomed.**

**

* * *

****Part 14**

**

* * *

**A day later…

With the skies calm and cool, Appa the Flying Bison glided along the air currents. This circumstance was not lost on anyone.

"These clouds," Katara says, as she looks over to the side of Appa's saddle, while on her stomach. "I can just touch these clouds with my hands…"

Sokka, who was practicing levitating a small rock, turns towards her sister.

"Maybe you can," Sokka says.

"Well, you might be able to hold them just yet, but you'll be able to move them soon enough," Ranma says, as he continues to lounge on his back with his eyes closed.

"Looking forward to it."

"Hey, Aang, let's see if we can now!" Goku yells.

"Sure!" Aang replied.

"Hootcha!" the boys say in unison, as they leap into a bed of clouds.

Usagi scrambles to the side.

"Goku! Aang!" Usagi yells. "Don't worry, I'm coming to save you-"

"Usagi, they'll be fine." Ranma says, as he yawns.

"Um, well-"

"Ta-da!" Aang says, as he and Goku plop back on Appa's saddle, thanks to Aang's glider.

"Oh, Goku, don't scare me like that!" Usagi yells, as she shakes her foster son.

"Owie…"

"Well, at least we know that clouds are wet," Aang says, as he uses an air bubble effect to dry himself and Goku off.

FWOOSH!

"Oh, no!" Usagi says, as she tried to fix her hair. "Now, I got the frizzies!"

Momo the Flying Lemur hops on Usagi's head and attempts to comb it.

"Hey, guys," Sokka says, as he notices something on the ground. "That part of the forest…"

Everyone looks towards the front, as sees that a section of the forest was burnt.

"Huh," Ranma says.

"Do you think the Fire Nation are around?" Goku asked.

"I don't know. Then again, this could be a natural phenomenon."

"I don't think so," Aang says. "All I know is that as the Avatar, I'm suppose to protect nature, regardless of the cause."

"Then we should do something about it," Usagi says.

All eyes turn towards Usagi.

"Huh?"

"Well, I do know a few tricks to help restore a forest."

"Really?" Aang says with excitement.

"Really. I happen to be a specialist in botany. And with the added bonus of magic, I think I can do something about this problem."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Katara says. "We should get started on our task, if we are to make the trip to the North Pole in a timely fashion."

Aang looks at Katara with a smile.

"Thanks."

A short while later…

"Look at this…destruction." Goku says sadly, as he looks around. "Reminds me of home…"

"What's home like?" Sokka asks. "You've never really talked about it much."

"Um, let's see," Goku says, as he thinks aloud. "It was a forest with a lot of water falls and valleys. You could reach into a river and pull out a fish with your bare hands. During the day, it was cool, but at night…it was warm enough to sleep underneath the stars."

"Sounds nice," Katara says.

"Yeah. I lived in the forest with my Grandpa. And then when he died from an accident, Mom and Dad were there for me."

"Well, at least someone was able to," Sokka says with a sigh. "After Mom died, Dad became distant…and this was before the Southern Water Tribes sent their best warrior, Dad included…"

"At least you guys had parents," Aang says. "All I had to guide me was Monk Gyatso."

"What happened to your parents?" Katara asked.

"I don't know. None of the Air Nomads have parents, once we are given up for training at a young age."

Ranma shook his head. Like Aang, he was trained practically since the day he could walk. And even though he course in life made him a better martial artist, Ranma sometimes wished that he had a normal life…

"Personally, I always believed that it's the family that you make that counts more than the family that you come from. Believe me."

Aang nods his head, as he clutched the acorn that was thrown at him by Katara, as a part of her attempt to cheer the Avatar up. He then turns towards Usagi.

"Usagi?" Aang ask.

Usagi turns to face Aang, while she was examining the soil samples with her Tricorder…

"Yes?"

"Can you help?"

"As a matter of fact…yes."

"Really?" Katar asked.

"Sure. Although the forest got burnt down, the soil is rich in nutrients."

"So…what now?" Sokka asks.

Before Usagi could answer-

"Hello!" says an old man, as he used a cane to approach Aang's party.

Sokka looks towards the man.

"Who are you, old man?" Sokka says.

WHACK!

"Ow!" Sokka says, as he felt the back of his head.

"Respect your elders," Ranma says, as he lowers his hand.

"MY elders are back home, Ranma."

Ranma gives Sokka a raised eyebrow.

"SORRY, 'sensei'. Sheesh."

"How can we help you, sir?" Katara asked.

"I am from a nearby village that is being attacked by the spirit of this forest," the old man says. "And when I saw your flying bison, I prayed that the Avatar was with you."

"Aang's the Avatar," Goku says.

"Then we might have a chance," the old man says. "After all, it is the Avatar that stands between the human world and the spirit world."

"But…I don't know how to do that."

"Well, Usagi and I are experienced in dealing with spirits," Ranma says.

"You…you do?" Katara asked.

"Sure. Spirits are sentient beings without form. We know a couple of tricks that'll help Aang fulfill his role."

"So, what do you say, Aang?" Sokka asked.

"Well…if Ranma and Usagi can help, then I'll try," Aang says.

"We'll do our best to help," Ranma says, as he turns towards his wife. "Right, Usagi?"

"Hold on," Usagi says, as she begins her ritual spell. "Okay, I think I got it."

Usagi waves her hand over an acorn…

"Hey, it's starting to sprout-" Usagi began to say, before-

WHOOSH!

The acorn immediately becomes an adult tree. Unfortunately, due to the speed of the growth, Usagi got her foot caught on a branch. Now, she was upside swinging.

"Usagi?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, don't mind me," Usagi says, as she tries to laugh off her predicament. "I'm just…hanging around."

"…"

"You need help, Mom?" Goku asked.

"Well, maybe a little."

As Goku flies up to help his mother from her predicament, Sokka turns towards his sister.

"And SHE is one my teachers?" Sokka says with disbelief.

"Look on the bright side," Katara says. "At least we KNOW we can restore the forest."

"Well, then, let's go help these people," Aang says.

While everyone is preoccupied, Ranma suddenly turns around and scans the destroyed section of the forest. For some reason, he felt as if he and his traveling companions were being watched…

"Ranma, are you coming?" Usagi asked.

"Um, sure," Ranma says, as he turns to follow the old man to his village.

**Tbc.**


	15. Chapter 15

**SMST P7A: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

**

* * *

****Disclaimer: SM, R1/2, ST and other genres belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

**Special note: For this week, I will restrict most of my work to 1000+ words per story, in an effort to "catch up". C&C are welcomed. **

* * *

**Part 15**

* * *

Aang and the gang follow the old man to his village. Upon entering the village, everyone could see damaged buildings.

"Look at all this damage," Sokka says, as he scans the area.

"So much destruction," Aang says.

"Is this related to your problem, sir?" Katara asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid," says the old man. "We believe that the spirit that is harming us comes from the forest."

"But why would the spirit hurt you?" Goku asked. "You didn't help the Fire Nation burn your own forest, right?"

"Of course not, Goku!" Usagi says.

"How would you know?" Ranma asked. "Whose to say that some villagers weren't forced to burn down their own forest, as a sign of loyalty?"

"I assure you that my people and I did not help the Fire Nation soldiers," the old man says. "Come; let us confer with the others…"

The old man and his fellow elders discuss the nature of the attacking spirit, and how it was connected to Aang's role as the Avatar…

"I wish I had someone to help me in my role as the Avatar," Aang says with a sigh.

"We'll help you, Aang," Katara says.

"It's not that," Aang says. "I'm suppose to learn how to be the Avatar from my previous incarnation: Avatar Roku."

"Wait," Usagi says. "Are you referring to that last statue back at the Southern Air Temple?"

"Yeah."

"I mean, I'm glad Usagi, Ranma and Goku are here to help me train, but to be an Avatar…"

"We understand," Ranma says.

"Still, with all of us here, we should do alright," Sokka says, as he flips his boomerang.

"Right," Katara replied. She then turns to the old man and his companions. "When does this…spirit come to the village?"

"At the setting of the sun," the old man says. "That's when the 'Hebei' spirit comes."

"And then what?" Goku asks.

"We rebuild…if we can."

"Then we shall prepare for the spirit's arrival," Ranma says. "Aang, as the Avatar, will 'greet' the forest spirit, and the rest of us will be here to back Aang."

Soon, Aang stands at the entrance of the village, nervous about what was suppose to come next. He looks up to see Ranma and Usagi in position, while they were hiding. They wanted Goku to stand back to protect the village. Plus, there was a full moon that evening, so

"Are you guys SURE this is the plan?" Aang asked nervously.

"Well, the old man did say that the it's your job to confront the spirits of this world," Ranma says.

"But we'll be here," Usagi says.

"…"

"Relax, Aang. What could possibly go wrong-?"

THOOM!

Some sort of giant animal thing appears in front of Aang. It appeared to have four sets arms, though one pair was more massive that the other.

"Guys, what am I suppose to do next?" Aang asked.

"Ranma-" Usagi began to say.

"Wait," Ranma says. "Aang, talk to the Hebei."

"Um, okay," Aang says. He then focused on his thoughts on the spirit.

"Um, spirit, could you NOT damage this village? It wasn't their fault that the forest was burned-"

"RRRROOOOAAAR!" the Heibei roars, as it leaped over Aang, and begins to attack the village.

"I don't think THAT worked," Sokka says sarcastically.

"We got to get out there," Katara says.

"No, we have to stay," Goku says.

"Why?"

"Dad and Mom are still out there, remember?"

"Oh, yeah…"

Just as the Hebei spirit was about to smash its first house.

KTCH!

"Errr?" the Hebei spirit says with bewilderment.

"Aang says that the village was not at fault," Ranma says, as he caught the fist of the Hebei while glowing. Ranma was altering his aura so that he could grab spirits at will. However-

"RRRROOOOAAAR!"

The Hebei unleashed concentrated blast of air into Ranma's face, knocking him backwards a dozen yards away.

"Ranma!" Usagi says. "Okay, then…MY TURN."

Usagi raises her hands.

"Moon Prism Magic!"

FWOOM!

While Usagi was spinning around to transform into her hero guise, Sokka's eyes widened.

"Wow," Sokka says with hearts in his eyes. "Usagi is certainly cute-"

KLONK-KLONK!

"Ow!"

"Don't' stare!" Katara yells.

"Yeah, that's my Mom!" Goku says.

"Hey, I'm not the one whose spinning around nearly naked, you know!" Sokka says defensively.

Meanwhile, Ranma gets up to do battle. However-

"Wait," Aang says. "Maybe we shouldn't fight the Hebei spirit."

"Aang, the Hebei spirit is not going to listen to reason," Ranma says.

"And that's where I come in," Sailor Moon says to Aang.

"Um, interesting look, Usagi," Aang says with a blush.

"Thanks."

Sailor Moon then turns to the Hebei spirit.

"Spirit! I am Sailor Moon, champion of Love and Justice. And in the name of the Moon…I shall punish you-"

SNATCH!

"Hey!" Sailor Moon yells, as the Hebei spirit suddenly grabs Sailor Moon, and takes off back into the forest.

"Usagi!" Ranma says, as he takes off running.

"Ranma, wait up!" Aang yells, as he unfurls his staff glider, kicks off into the sky…

"That did NOT go well," Sokka says.

"We should follow them," Goku says, as he runs outside.

"Goku-!"

Meanwhile…

"Yahhhhhhhhh-!" Sailor Moon says, as the Hebei spirit carries her off.

"Usagi!" Ranma yells, as he runs after his wife. He picks up speed, and-  
THWONG!

"Got you!" Ranma yells, as he grabs the spirit. The spirit roars, as it tries to shake Ranma off.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ranma says. He looks back, sensing that Aang was close behind them.

"Aaag, grab Usagi! I'm going to force this guy to let her go!"

"Okay!" Aang says, as he manages to catch up. "Usagi, grab my hand!"

Sailor Moon looks up to see Aang close by. She reaches out to grab Aang's outstretched left hand…

GRAB!

"I got her, Ranma!" Aang yells.

"Okay," Ranma says, as he slams his fists onto the spirit's back.

THWACK!

"RRRROOOAAARRRR!"

The Hebei spirit lets Sailor Moon go, allowing Aang to grab her. Unfortunately, the maneuver was a bit awkward, causing Aang and Sailor Moon to crash into the dirt ceremoniously.

"Oof!" Aang and Sailor Moon yelps.

Ranma looked back to see that the two were safe. Unfortunately, just as he was about to hop off, the spirit grabs Ranma.

"Hey!" Ranma yells. "Let me go-!"

Ranma turns to see that the spirit was heading into the burnt areas of the forests.

"Where are you going-?"

FLASH!

The spirit and Ranma disappear…into a statue of a bear.

A few minutes later, Aang and Sailor Moon arrive at the statue of the bear. All around it, were stones shaped as bear cubs.

"This is where the trail ends," Sailor Moon says. She then takes a look at the statue.

"Oh, no!"

"What?" Aang says.

"The spirit must have taken Ranma with him…in THERE."

Aang looks at the statue…

"We should tell the others what had happened," Aang says.

"Right," Sailor Moon says. "The village elders may know more about this…phenomenon…"

She then looks back at the statue again.

"Don't worry, babe…we'll get you out of there…"

Unfortunately, things became complicated when they learned, upon returning to the village, that they were spirits themselves.

"This is not good," Sailor Moon says.

"Not good?" Aang complained. "We're spirits!"

Sailor Moon looks at Katara trying to convince Goku that her parents and best friend were okay, with Sokka yawning.

"Wait, I know a trick," Sailor Moon says. "I learned it from a sorceress once…"

"Wait, what are you-?" Aang asked.

Sailor Moon enters Katara's body…

SNAP!

Katara noticeably jerked, as Sokka and Goku notices this.

"Katara, are you okay?" Sokka asked.

"She looks like she's in a trance or something," Goku wondered.

"Katara" smiled.

"Never felt better," "Katara" says. "Look, we have a slight problem…"

**Tbc.**


	16. Chapter 16

**SMST P7A: The Ethereal Path of the Avatar! – By DS Wynne**

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: SM, R1/2, ST and other genres belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: This is a multi-genre story.**

**Special note: For this week, I will restrict most of my work to 1000+ words per story, in an effort to "catch up". C&C are welcomed.**

**

* * *

**

**Part 16**

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, Ranma and his female guise are in some weird, ethereal forest.

"Where the heck are we?" Ranko Tendo yelled, as she flayed her arms. For some reason, she appeared when Ranma ended up in this…place. It wasn't the first time this sort of thing had happened, but Ranma theorized that the magic of his Jusenkyo curse was strong enough to appear in the so-called Immaterial Planes (i.e. magical, astral or spiritual).

"Hmmm," Ranma said, as he felt the ground. The ground felt warm to the touch…

Ranko immediately turns towards Ranma.

"Aren't you going to do something?" Ranko asked.

"I am," Ranma said, as he stood up. "I'm trying to figure out where that panda bear took us."

"And…?"

"We're in the 'Spirit world', obviously," Ranma said.

"Obviously," Ranko said sarcastically. "So, how can we get out of here?"

"Don't know yet, but we WILL find out how."

Silence.

"Okay, so…what do we do in the mean time?" Ranko asked.

"We can train," Ranma said. "In fact, being here brings up a good opportunity to training the spiritual side of your training."

"Great, more 'homework'…"

"Well, that, or we…enjoy each other's company," Ranma said jokingly.

"We've been around Usagi WAY too much," Ranko said flatly.

"Damn, you right," Ranma said, as he shook violently. "She's the type of person to have 'group relations' with an army of duplicates if given the 'license' to do so. Brrrrrrr!"

"Well, actually, she did, remember?" Ranko said. "Remember those clones of Usagi that Palpatine had Camino manufacture? You know, for his cadre of 'Sith Inquisitors'?"

"Oh, yeah…"

Meanwhile, back in the "real" world…

"So, you're Mom?" Goku asked.

"Yes," said the possessed Katara, as she stretched her limbs.

"Where's Aang?" Sokka said.

"He's standing near me," Usagi-through-Katara said.

"Is Katara okay?" Sokka asked with worry.

"Why not ask her…?"

FWOOMP!

"Please, don't do that!" Katara yelled.

"Katara, you're okay?" Sokka asked.

"I guess so," Katara replied, as she checked out her body. "Oh, and Aang said 'hello', Goku."

"Cool!" Goku said.

"So, what's next?" Sokka asked.

FWOOMP!

"We wait until the monster appears," said Aang-through-Katara.

"You sound different," Sokka said.

"I feel different," Aang-through-Katara said with a blush.

FWOOMP!

"Stop that!" Katara said. "Humph!"

"Well, there is nothing we can do for now," Sokka said. He then turns towards Goku.

"You want to train?" Sokka asked.

"Do I?" Goku replied excitedly.

"Boys," Katara said, as she shook her head.

Sure enough, in the pale of the moonlight, forest spirit appears to terrorize the village. However, so did the spirit of a blue dragon.

"Ah!" Usagi replied, as the dragon stops right in front of Usagi.

"I don't think he'll hurt us," Aang said.

The blue dragon nods its head, as it licks Usagi's face.

SLURP!

"Ew!"

Aang laughs, as he climbs unto the dragon's back.

"We better see what he wants," Aang said, as he extends his hand towards Usagi.

"Okay," Usagi said, as she climbs unto the dragon's back. "Okay, now what- ULP!"

The dragon takes off like a shot. It flies westward to what appeared to be an island that still had an active volcano.

"Weeeee!" Usagi said, as she stuck up her arms in glee. "This is fun, Falkor!"

"Errrrr?" the dragon said.

"Who's 'Falkor'?" Aang asked.

When the dragon got closer, it phased into a grand temple dedicated to the memory of one of the Fire Nation's greatest "Fire Benders", who happened to be Aang's predecessor as this world's "Avatar": Avatar Roku.

THUMP!

"Huh," Aang said, as he and Usagi hops off the dragon. They appeared to be in some sort of closed temple that was sealed away by heavy metal doors. On the directly on the other side of the room was the golden statue of a serene, older man, and a beautiful woman standing next to him, in a loving embrace, and who looked vaguely familiar…

"Why does she look like Rei?" Usagi asked, as she goes over to statue. When she touched it, images flashed through her mind…

FLASH!

_Usagi…_

_Sailor Moon…_

_Moon Princess..._

_Friend…_

FLASH!

"Usagi!" Aang said, as he shook his friend from her reverie.

"Aang?" Usagi asked. She looked around to see that she and Aang were on some astral plane. Among the clouds was…

"Roku?" Aang asked. "You're Avatar Roku!"

"Hello, Aang," Roku said in a sage-like manner. He didn't have a mustache, but wore his hair and beard long.

"We have much to talk."

"Well, I have to talk to you, sir," Usagi said.

Roku turns towards Usagi.

"Ah, you're Rei's friend," Roku said with a bow. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

"Ah, well, thank you, I guess," Usagi replied.

"Why did you summon us, Roku?" Aang asked.

"I do not have long to speak, but you must come to Roku Island. My presence is strong there, and I will have an opportunity to explain more. But will say this: the fate of this world of Jeegoo and of my beloved Rei hangs in the balance."

Roku begins to fade.

"Roku!" Aang said.

"What's going to happen to Rei?" Usagi asked.

"Come, and find out…"

FLASH!

The next thing the two realized, they were back on the blue dragon's back.

"That was weird," Usagi said.

"But we know where to go," Aang said. "But first, we have to deal with the spirit that is terrorizing the village back there…"

After returning home, the two retrieved Ranma, who was restored to normal. Aang confronted the forest spirit by providing an offering: an acorn, and apology and a pledge to rebuild the forest. Satisfied, the spirit went away and became a panda before fading off into the distance.

"Figures that I would have problems with pandas," Ranma said as he made a face.

"I found out that during the Winter Solstice, the spirit world and the material world co-exist," Katara said.

"That's probably why we were able to interact with all these spirits, including Avatar Roku's," Aang said.

"Who?" Goku asked.

"My predecessor as the Avatar," Aang said.

"Where to next?" Sokka said, as he gets out his map. "We might be able to make some tracks quickly."

"We have to take a detour," Usagi said.

"Where?" Ranma asked.

"Roku Island…in Fire Nation territory," Aang said.

"What?" everyone exclaimed in disbelief.

"Roku urged us to go there, so we must," Aang said, as he fed Momo.

"Then, that's where we have to go next, then," Ranma said.

"But-" Sokka said.

"Hey, look at it this way: you get to practice some of those martial arts I taught ya!" Ranma said, as he pats Sokka's back.

"Gee, thanks for the compliment," Sokka said drolly.

The next day, Appa flies straight into the Fire Nation blockade, led by a rival of Prince Zuko and Lord Iroh: Admiral Zhao. Zhao wanted to capture the Avatar in order to gain some political points with Zuko's father, the Fire Lord.

"I see we have our first catch of the day," Zhao said with a smirk, as he stared at the approaching flying bison through a pair of binoculars. He then turns towards his chief.

"Signal the men to fire on my mark! The Avatar's path ends TODAY.

**Tbc.**


End file.
